Notre Dame is expected to land former Alabama defensive back DeVonta Smith in the transfer portal, according to multiple reports on Monday.
The 6-foot, 194-pound Smith signed with Alabama as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021 out of La Salle High School in Cincinnati (joining the Crimson Tide after the wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who’s now with the Philadelphia Eagles, won the Heisman Trophy in 2020). He emerged as a starter this season and finished with 30 tackles and five pass breakups before entering the transfer portal, earning a reputation as the hardest hitter among Alabama’s defensive backs. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
After this season, the Irish will lose Arizona State transfer Jordan Clark, who replaced Oklahoma State transfer Thomas Harper in Notre Dame’s revolving door at nickelback under Marcus Freeman. Now Smith appears to be up next as the highest-profile addition at the position.
While constantly going to the portal at a singular spot might be complicated for program management, the Irish have made transfers work for them in the secondary. In addition to adding Clark, the Irish also pulled Rod Heard II from Northwestern last winter and built the nation’s No. 1 pass efficiency defense for a second consecutive season. The players may change, but they fit into the schemes of defensive coordinator Al Golden and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens.
Smith logged a career-high 421 snaps this season, per PFF, working mostly in a nickel role. That represented a major increase from his first three seasons when he totaled 57 snaps, which included a four-game redshirt in 2023 due to injury when Smith had been projected as a starter at safety.
What’s next for Notre Dame in the portal?
Notre Dame plans to be aggressive in the transfer portal with Virginia wide receiver Malachi Fields a prospect of high interest for the Irish. Notre Dame needs a physical boundary receiver, among other positions, and the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Fields is coming off back-to-back 800-yard seasons with the Cavaliers. His decision may focus more on going to the NFL or transferring to a bigger program, although he’s yet to announce his intentions.
The Irish will also be on the hunt for defensive tackle help, although it’s less clear where Notre Dame might turn to rebuild a depth chart that’s about to lose Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills. It’s also not clear if reserve Jason Onye will return to the team after missing the second half of this season due to personal reasons.
Though Freeman has said Notre Dame doesn’t plan to take a quarterback this offseason, the Irish could be forced to reevaluate depending on the health and availability of the position. Riley Leonard is done after this season, with Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr still on the roster and Blake Hebert set to enroll. While Carr was projected as the quarterback of the future, he’s missed the past two months while rehabbing from a practice elbow injury. During Monday’s practice viewing periods, Carr was limited to short toss in warmups and didn’t take meaningful reps when the quarterbacks threw deeper passes.
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