Notre Dame Football: Irish WR Lorenzo Styles enters the transfer portal

The Notre Dame wide receiver room thought it had a partial loss this spring, but now it’s an actual loss. On Friday Lorenzo Styles entered the transfer portal and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Styles made a really nice splash as a true freshman in 2021, and most thought he would take another jump in 2022 as the main WR target. It certainly looked like that was going to happen with the way he opened the season against Ohio State (even if it was just ONE reception), and then pulled in a good game in week two with 7 catches for 69 yards. In the final six games, however, he grabbed just 11 passes for 80 yards.

Styles started taking some reps this spring at cornerback as the wide receiver position saw an infusion of young talent as well as seeing the rise of fellow classmates Deion Colzie and Jayden Thomas. Styles was widely considered to be a much better cornerback prospect that wide receiver prospect coming out of high school — so much so that some believed he was a borderline 5-Star talent as a corner. Ohio State, which is where his father played linebacker, recruited him solely as a corner and he chose the Irish — most likely so he got his chance as an offensive player.

Pete Thamel is reporting that Styles wants to play the rest of his college career as a cornerback, so perhaps this is a way to join his brother Sonny Styles (safety) in the defensive backfield in Columbus, Ohio.

Pete Sampson said it best — it’s an odd ending.

“Lorenzo Styles said he planned to play both ways in the Blue-Gold Game just 72 hours earlier. Odd ending to a Notre Dame career that opened with much promise.”

It’s unfortunate that Styles didn’t work out at Notre Dame on either side of the ball. He’s still an extremely talented young athlete that still has a lot to offer with the right fit and opportunity.

Good luck to him in the future.