Three Former, Current Notre Dame Players Enter Transfer Portal
Three Notre Dame players have entered their names into the NCAA transfer portal to use their final seasons of eligibility at another school: senior receiver/running back Jafar Armstrong, senior center Colin Grunhard, and junior running back Jahmir Smith.
• Armstrong is the most prominent figure because two years ago as a sophomore he shifted from wide receiver to provide an option at running back due to the graduation, suspensions and dismissals at the position.
He debuted with two touchdowns in the 24-17 opening game victory versus Michigan in 2018, but a couple of injuries and the return of the suspended Dexter Williams for the fifth game that season limited his action thereafter. He still finished as the third-leading rusher with 383 yards, had the second-most rushing touchdowns with seven and also snared 14 passes for 159 yards.
After Williams’ graduation, Armstrong was the designated starter in the 2019 opener but suffered an abdominal injury on the year’s opening series and never quite seemed to regain full strength. He finished with only 122 yards rushing, 2.7 yards per carry and 13 catches for 97 yards.
This year, sophomore Kyren Williams, freshman Chris Tyree and junior C’Bo Flemister all opened the season ahead of him on the depth chart, with Williams flourishing into a 1,000-yard back and the speedster Tyree adding 496 yards.
In his limited action, Armstrong had 17 carries for only eight yards (0.5 yards per carry), caught three passes for 38 yards and returned one kickoff for 36 yards. He had been moved back to his natural wideout spot in mid-season after injuries sidelined juniors Kevin Austin and Braden Lenzy, but Armstrong seldom played.
• Grunhard, the son of 1986-89 Notre Dame guard and 10-year NFL veteran Tim Grunhard, arrived as a walk-on center, but his contributions earned him a scholarship in December 2019 before he entered his senior year.
He played 12 snaps this season while working behind starter Jarrett Patterson, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in the Nov. 14 win at Boston College. In Patterson's place, sophomore Zeke Correll and senior Josh Lugg were the centers, with Correll getting the call in the Rose Bowl loss versus Alabama.
• Smith was an early enrollee in the spring of 2018 and had six carries for 28 yards as a freshman. In 2019, he scored the team’s first touchdown of the year in a 35-17 victory at Louisville and finished the campaign with 180 yards on 42 carries with two scores.
This year, like Armstrong, Smith was bypassed in the lineup by younger players. He had five carries for 15 yards in the opener versus Duke but did not play thereafter. In mid-October, he announced on social media he was leaving the team to concentrate on his mental health. Wrote Smith: "I am directing my focus towards completing my studies and working on my well being with the support and resources from university health services.”
To enter the transfer portal, which in the last couple of years has become the collegiate version of free agency, the individual must provide a written notification to a designated administrator at his university. That administrator then compiles the pertinent information to enter the name into the portal website that can be accessed by NCAA coaches and administrators.
Prior to the portal, a student-athlete had to get permission from the coach to be released from the scholarship, and the coach also had a voice on which schools the transfer could or could not talk to about a transfer.
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