Outgoing Player Transfers (2023-24)

[estimebicep 22]

Merriweather leaving would be a gain by subtraction.

[Baldy 1,225]

39 minutes ago, Soko said:

Merriweather looks he doesn't want to be there. And plays like it too.

1 minute ago, estimebicep said:

Merriweather leaving would be a gain by subtraction.

Agreed, on both accounts!

[John C 8]

23 hours ago, tneun89 said:

I think he saw the writing on the wall. I agree he was one of ND's most reliable WRs this season and a leader in the WR room, but he was still only third in terms of snaps among the WRs (behind Flores and Merriweather). There are a ton of young guys coming up who will take reps away, especially at slot, which is the only position Tyree can play. 

Next year's slot will be Greathouse and/or Faison, with Flores, Merriweather, and Thomas on the outside. Hopefully Braylon James and KK Smith come back healthy/stronger to compete, and maybe Cam Williams and Micah Gilbert (who will both be true freshman) can make an impact like Flores/Faison/Greathouse this season.

I think Colzie will transfer as well, so ND needs to grab a WR or two from the portal.

I respectfully disagree from the standpoint that Greathouse looks to be the best non slot receiver, and I don't see Faison as an every down player given his size. Further, you can't really say that incoming freshman will be better than Tyree. You are saying that he made the most receptions while having the third most snaps. Yes, they have replacements for Tyree but I believe Tyree would have been the best option at slot next year. 

I wonder if Stuckey had an impact in the decision. Stuckey was under a great deal of pressure last year, and he may have dumped on the receiver group too often. 

 

[Jersey Irish 205]

16 hours ago, estimebicep said:

Merriweather leaving would be a gain by subtraction.

Don't feel the same way. Merriweather had some highlight plays, but was def. undercoached by Stuckey. Hope  he stays as he is a big time threat and future star. If he go3s, Washington will scoop him out and I;d bet my bottom dollar, he wo9uld be a star!

[tneun89 978]

1 hour ago, John C said:

I respectfully disagree from the standpoint that Greathouse looks to be the best non slot receiver, and I don't see Faison as an every down player given his size. Further, you can't really say that incoming freshman will be better than Tyree. You are saying that he made the most receptions while having the third most snaps. Yes, they have replacements for Tyree but I believe Tyree would have been the best option at slot next year. 

I wonder if Stuckey had an impact in the decision. Stuckey was under a great deal of pressure last year, and he may have dumped on the receiver group too often. 

 

I don't disagree that Tyree was a weapon in the slot (I think he was underutilized this season), but I don't think it's a coincidence that Senior Chris Tyree had less snaps than Freshman Rico Flores and Sophomore Tobias Merriweather. Tyree was only getting ~20 snaps per game, which is pretty incredible considering the state of the WR room (poor recruiting, plus a multitude of injuries). I think his snaps per game would have stayed about the same in 2024. I wasn't implying that true freshmen would be better than him or steal snaps from him, but I think the younger guys in that room (Flores, Greathouse, Faison) are emerging, with two of those guys (Greathouse, Faison) playing his position. Greathouse seems to be able to move around and play different WR positions, but most analysts seem to think he is the best slot WR on the team. Totally agree that Faison is small, but he will play a ton next year because he looked awesome the second half of the season.

Not sure how Stuckey impacted Tyree's decision. I doubt his firing will bring Tyree back because I think he wants to play more and be more integral in an offense. Over the course of the season, he was the most consistent (availability, plus making plays), yet he still finished 3rd in snaps, 3rd in receptions, and 3rd in TDs. He's probably just looking for a better opportunity elsewhere.

I think ND will be very active in the portal at WR. It sounds like one or two more WRs will leave (some combination of James, Merriweather, Colzie will likely leave), so ND will not only need bodies, but true difference makers. I think the 2023 team was talented enough to make the Playoff, but the lack of any dynamic WRs really killed the offense. Freeman (and Parker) know this, so I would not be surprised if they bring in one very high level WR, maybe two if ND can afford it.

[NDhoosier 1,228]

22 minutes ago, Jersey Irish said:

Don't feel the same way. Merriweather had some highlight plays, but was def. undercoached by Stuckey. Hope  he stays as he is a big time threat and future star. If he go3s, Washington will scoop him out and I;d bet my bottom dollar, he wo9uld be a star!

I agree, Tobias staying would be beneficial for ND. People hating on Tobias dont really seem to have a valid reason. He was open, and there is video proof on insider boards, more often down field that you all think. Also, if any of you watched the publicly available video on Youtube from Irish Breakdown yesterday, you would know that it was likely Stuckey that seemed to have been the problem. Tobias has the talent, if you do not see that, I do not know what to tell you. Also, not sure I saw Tobias being lazy once, I saw him constantly blocking people downfield when given the chance. I just do not think there is any valid reason to be hating on Tobias.

James does not appear to be transferring anymore. It seems Stuckey was the main reason why James even thought about leaving, now that isn't an issue.

Edited November 29, 2023 by NDhoosier

[tneun89 978]

18 minutes ago, NDhoosier said:

I agree, Tobias staying would be beneficial for ND. People hating on Tobias dont really seem to have a valid reason. He was open, and there is video proof on insider boards, more often down field that you all think. Also, if any of you watched the publicly available video on Youtube from Irish Breakdown yesterday, you would know that it was likely Stuckey that seemed to have been the problem. Tobias has the talent, if you do not see that, I do not know what to tell you. Also, not sure I saw Tobias being lazy once, I saw him constantly blocking people downfield when given the chance. I just do not think there is any valid reason to be hating on Tobias.

James does not appear to be transferring anymore. It seems Stuckey was the main reason why James even thought about leaving, now that isn't an issue.

I hope Tobias stays because the talent is there. But there were definitely times when he seemed lost out there or not trying hard. The Clemson game immediately comes to mind. There were two passes thrown his way in the 4th Quarter where he gave very little effort. He also struggled mightily in the Duke game. Maybe it was just some growing pains/sophomore slump, but he really disappointed this year - but agree not all of it was his fault.

That's great news on Braylon James, if true. He has the speed that the WR room desperately needs.

[NDhoosier 1,228]

I guess there is a still a good chance that one or two WRs still leave from the current roster. My primary guesses (no actual intel on any of these, just my speculation):

Tobias Merriweather - I think he is the most talented, but I think he was probably the most affected by Stuckey's "way of coaching"
Jayden Thomas - Mystery in my opinion, he was hurt most of this year, but his production still went way down, this could go either way. 
Deion Colzie - I think he is the most likely to transfer as he probably realizes that he has been passed up on the depth chart

Will probably see ND go after at least one WR in the transfer portal to replace the loss(es). Sounds like Freeman has some work to do to convince some people in the WR room to stay. Again, the names listed are just MY SPECULATION, no specific rumors of any particular player has been mentioned at this time.

Edited November 29, 2023 by NDhoosier

[Hickory23 67]

I read a post somewhere else where some “insider” said Tobias's locker is cleared out. Who knows if true but seems like smoke is building for his exit.

[Baldy 1,225]

49 minutes ago, NDhoosier said:

I guess there is a still a good chance that one or two WRs still leave from the current roster. My primary guesses (no actual intel on any of these, just my speculation):

Tobias Merriweather - I think he is the most talented, but I think he was probably the most affected by Stuckey's "way of coaching"
Jayden Thomas - Mystery in my opinion, he was hurt most of this year, but his production still went way down, this could go either way. 
Deion Colzie - I think he is the most likely to transfer as he probably realizes that he has been passed up on the depth chart

Will probably see ND go after at least one WR in the transfer portal to replace the loss(es). Sounds like Freeman has some work to do to convince some people in the WR room to stay. Again, the names listed are just MY SPECULATION, no specific rumors of any particular player has been mentioned at this time.

This is a good speculative look.

My take is Thomas will stay. The reason is I feel he would want to stay to prove he can be big time players for the Irish, especially since he was injured most of the year.

Colzie and Merriweather I’m not sure about.

6 minutes ago, Hickory23 said:

I read a post somewhere else where some “insider” said Tobias's locker is cleared out. Who knows if true but seems like smoke is building for his exit.

Interesting! 🤔 

[nremdn 34]

9 minutes ago, Hickory23 said:

I read a post somewhere else where some “insider” said Tobias's locker is cleared out. Who knows if true but seems like smoke is building for his exit.

My buddy (who has some sources with program info) said the same thing earlier. Tobias is supposedly gone. There are also whispers that 2 more coaches are likely moving on (no confirmation yet). This is going to be a wild offseason.

[tneun89 978]

2 hours ago, NDhoosier said:

I guess there is a still a good chance that one or two WRs still leave from the current roster. My primary guesses (no actual intel on any of these, just my speculation):

Tobias Merriweather - I think he is the most talented, but I think he was probably the most affected by Stuckey's "way of coaching"
Jayden Thomas - Mystery in my opinion, he was hurt most of this year, but his production still went way down, this could go either way. 
Deion Colzie - I think he is the most likely to transfer as he probably realizes that he has been passed up on the depth chart

Will probably see ND go after at least one WR in the transfer portal to replace the loss(es). Sounds like Freeman has some work to do to convince some people in the WR room to stay. Again, the names listed are just MY SPECULATION, no specific rumors of any particular player has been mentioned at this time.

Agree with a lot of this. As others have said, it seems like Tobias is gone - an insider reported this afternoon that it's likely he leaves, but Freeman is trying to convince him to stay. Putting some other pieces together, it seems like he did not gel with Stuckey, so you hit the nail on the head.

I think if Colzie is graduating this year, then he will leave. Based on his interviews, he seemed to really appreciate all that ND had to offer (apart from football), so I'd be surprised if he left before that degree was in hand. I wonder if he will have the credits to graduate in May?

On Thomas, I hope he stays. He's not a true WR1, but he is a leader in the room, and with a room of almost exclusively freshmen and sophomores next year, they will need him. Sure other guys will transfer in, but Thomas has been at ND for a few years and can really be a mentor. I haven't heard any rumors of him leaving, so my guess (pure speculation) is that he stays.

[tneun89 978]

 

[IrishGuy 177]

1 hour ago, nremdn said:

There are also whispers that 2 more coaches are likely moving on (no confirmation yet).

My W.A.G. is McCullough and Golden if this is true.

[Baldy 1,225]

15 minutes ago, tneun89 said:

 

And there it is! 😢

[IrishGuy 177]

How long is the portal open?

 

....just trying to see how much longer I need to hold my breath.

[Baldy 1,225]

3 minutes ago, IrishGuy said:

How long is the portal open?

 

....just trying to see how much longer I need to hold my breath.

[NDhoosier 1,228]

7 minutes ago, IrishGuy said:

How long is the portal open?

 

....just trying to see how much longer I need to hold my breath.

Well, just understand that about 20 people will have to leave before Fall Practice of next year. There will be a lot more, but some may leave after spring ball when they realize where they stand on the depth chart.

[FaithInIrish Forever 4,701]

 

[FaithInIrish Forever 4,701]

I'm going to need a score card to keep up with the roster moves.