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On Saturday, Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker, Shayne Simon, announced that he will be entering the transfer portal.
Simon was part of Notre Dame’s 2018 recruiting class and was a top 100 player overall according to the 247 Composite ranking. Shayne saw action in two games his freshman year as he took a redshirt. He didn’t quite develop into the player we thought Notre Dame was getting as he played in just 14 games over the next two years while totaling 26 total tackles from 2018-2020.
Simon did show a lot of promise in Notre Dame’s win over #1 Clemson in 2020, and he was in the mix for a major role as the Irish went into the spring. It didn’t materialize that way in fall camp, and unfortunately for everyone involved, Simon suffered a season ending injury.
2022 Notre Dame Football Scholarship Chart
| Position / Year | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th/6th Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position / Year | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th/6th Year |
| Quarterback | Steve Angeli | Tyler Buchner, Ron Powlus III | Drew Pyne | - | - |
| Running Back | Jadarian Price, Gi'Bran Payne | Logan Diggs, Audric Estime | Chris Tyree | - | - |
| Tight End | Eli Raridon, Holden Staes | Cane Berrong, Mitchell Evans | Michael Mayer, Kevin Bauman | - | - |
| Wide Receiver | Tobias Merriweather | Lorenzo Styles, Deion Colzie, Jayden Thomas | - | - | Braden Lenzy, Joe Wilkins, Avery Davis, Matt Salerno |
| Center | Ashton Craig | Pat Coogan | - | Zeke Correll | Jarrett Patterson |
| Guard | Billy Schrauth | Rocco Spindler | - | Andrew Kristofic, | Josh Lugg |
| Tackle | Joey Tanona, Ty Chan, Aamil Wagner | Blake Fisher, Joe Alt, Caleb Johnson | Michael Carmody, Tosh Baker | - | - |
| Defensive Tackle | Donovan Hinish, Tyson Ford | Gabriel Rubio | Aidan Keanaaina, Rylie Mills | Howard Cross, Jacob Lacey | Jayson Ademilola, Chris Smith |
| Defensive End | Aiden Gobaira | Jason Onye, Will Schweitzer | Alexander Ehrensberger, Jordan Botelho | NaNa Osafo-Mensah, Isaiah Foskey, Osita Ekwonu | Justin Ademilola |
| Linebacker | Nolan Ziegler, Joshua Burnham, Junior Tuihalamaka, Jaylen Sneed | Prince Kollie | - | Jack Kiser, Marist Liufau, JD Bertrand | Bo Bauer |
| Safety | Jayden Bellamy | Justin Walters | Xavier Watts, Ramon Henderson, Brandon Joesph | - | D.J. Brown, Houston Griffith |
| Cornerback | Jayden Mickey, Benjamin Morrison | Ryan Barnes, Chance Tucker, Philip Riley | Clarence Lewis | Cam Hart | TaRiq Bracy |
| Specialists | Bryce McFerson (P) | Josh Bryan (K) | Alex Peitsch (LS) | - | Michael Vinson (LS), Blake Grupe (K) |
| Totals | 22/85 (22) | 45/85 (23) | 60/85 (15) | 71/85 (11) | 86/85 (15) |
Notre Dame should be just fine at linebacker with a healthy mix of veterans and youngsters on the roster next year. One of the early issues of the 2021 season for Notre Dame was the health at linebacker as Simon and Marist Liufau suffered injuries and Prince Kollie had his setback with COVID.
Simon will graduate from Notre Dame and continue his football career elsewhere with two years of eligibility remaining.
Good luck Shayne!