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Notre Dame Football: Who Is Leaving Early For The NFL And Who Is Staying?

We are getting close to NFL Draft season... are any Irish players bolting?

By Joshua Vowles
Khalid Kareem notre dame
Khalid Kareem
Mike Miller/One Foot Down

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a long depth problem in its season ending loss to the Clemson Tigers in the Cotton Bowl. Some of that was known, and some of it was exposed (mostly) for the first time this season. The best way for Notre Dame to be able to compete in 2019, is for their talent to return for another year.

But will they?

There are a handful of names with eligibility remaining that could enter the draft. The names that are consistently brought up in this regard:

  • Julian Love CB
  • Julian Okwara DE
  • Khalid Kareem DE
  • Chase Claypool WR
  • Miles Boykin WR

Boykin and Claypool have been noted by others as 100% returning, although I haven’t seen anything to confirm just yet.

Kareem sent this out to the social media world:

So... we can count on Khalid’s services for another year.

Okwara, much like Claypool and Boykin, has also been noted by others to be returning as well. This would mean Notre Dame’s best 3 pass rushers ( Daelin Hayes included ) will be back in 2019.

Julian Love sent out an Instagram posts that mostly suggests a return in 2019, but that could still be a decision that is pending.

A CLEAN SWEEP?

It certainly appears that everyone mentioned will be coming back to South Bend for another year of football. This would solidify Notre Dame’s starting WR group, the starting secondary, and the pass rushers.

That’s great news for a team that must continue to develop the depth behind them to compete against the elite teams in college football.

THE NUMBERS CRUNCH

We will be talking a lot about the scholarship numbers for 2019 in the near future. As of right now, only Brandon Wimbush jumps off the chart with his transfer news. With one or two more additions still to come in Notre Dame’s 2019 recruiting class, it’s about to get interesting.

2019 Notre Dame Football Scholarship Chart

Position/Year Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior 5th Year
Position/Year Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior 5th Year
Quarterback Brendon Clark Phil Jurkovec* Ian Book*
Running Back Kyren Williams Jahmir Smith*, C'Bo Flemister* Jafar Armstrong* Tony Jones Jr.*
Tight End ⭐️ George Takacs*, Tommy Tremble* Cole Kmet, Brock Wright
Wide Receiver Cam Hart, Kendall Abdur-Rahman Micah Jones*, Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy*, Lawrence Keys III*, Joe Wilkins Jr.* Michael Young, Isaiah Robertson Chase Claypool, Javon McKinley* Chris Finke
Center Zeke Correll Jarrett Patterson* Trevor Ruhland
Guard John Olmstead John Dirksen* Dillan Gibbons*, Aaron Banks* Tommy Kraemer*
Tackle Andrew Kristofic, Quinn Carroll Cole Mabry* Robert Hainsey, Josh Lugg* Liam Eichenberg*
Defensive Tackle Jacob Lacey, Hunter Spears Jayson Ademilola, Ja'mion Franklin* Kurt Hinish, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa*
Defensive End Howard Cross, NaNa Osafo-Mensah, Isaiah Foskey Justin Ademilola*, Ovie Oghoufo* Kofi Wardlow* Ade Ogundeji*, Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara, Jamir Jones
Linebacker Jack Kiser, Osi Ekwonu, Marist Luifau, JD Bertrand Matt Bauer, Jack Lamb*, Shayne Simon, Paul Moala Drew White*, Jordan Genmark Heath, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah* Jonathan Jones* Asmar Bilal
Safety Litchfield Ajavon, Kyle Hamilton D.J. Brown* Jalen Elliott, Alohi Gilman*
Cornerback K.J. Wallace, Isaiah Rutherford Tariq Bracy, Houston Griffith Avery Davis* Troy Pride Jr., Donte Vaughn Shaun Crawford**
Specialists Jay Bramblett John Doerer John Shannon*
22/85 (22) 46/85 (24) 63/85 (17) 80/85 (17) 84/85 (4)
*Eligible For 5th Year **Eligible For 6th Year Rovers count as LB’s

If there is any news to come, we will update as needed.

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