Transfer Bio Blast: Zeke Correll

The first transfer portal window of the offseason does not open until Monday, but that is not stopping the action this week. Grad transfer can enter the portal at any point, and we are seeing that play out in the college football landscape. In Lexington, Kentucky lost redshirt senior Jalen Geiger to the transfer portal, but a big potential target emerged.

Notre Dame center Zeke Correll announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal on Monday and this is a player that will most likely be a target for Kentucky football. The former legacy recruit has some strong ties to the University of Kentucky and could immediately step into a starting role if added to the roster.

KSR’s Transfer Bio Blast is going to take a closer look at the Notre Dame interior offensive lineman who has one year of eligibility remaining.

Blue-chipper

Zeke Correll was a top-100 recruit in the class of 2019 out of Cincinnati (Ohio) Anderson. The interior offensive line prospect was the No. 3 overall recruit in Ohio. An Under Armour All-American, Correll had quite the popular recruitment.

Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Michigan all showed interest. Correll’s finalists were Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Stanford. The high four-star recruit committed to the Fighting Irish the summer before his senior season at Anderson.

Kentucky was the first power conference program to offer Correll in March 2017. The Wildcats got the blue-chipper on campus for multiple unofficial visits but this recruitment quickly turned into a blue-blood battle on the trail with Brian Kelly‘s Notre Dame program securing a commitment.

Multi-year starter

After playing in four games and taking a redshirt season in 2019, Zeke Correll (6-3, 306) started to carve out a role for Notre Dame as a redshirt freshman in 2020. The young center drew a starting assignment against Alabama in the College Football Playoff and would immediately become an integral part of the offensive line.

After starting six games in 2021, Correll became a full-time starter in 2022. During his career in South Bend, the offensive lineman played in 40 games for the Irish with 31 starts at center. After starting all 13 games in 2022, Correll missed time in November this season with a concussion.

The veteran leaves Notre Dame with 2,009 career snaps played with strong pass protection production, according to PFF data.

Deep Kentucky connections

Ray Correll was an All-American at Kentucky who played for Bear Bryant from 1951-53. Ray is Zeke Correll’s grandfather. Steve Correll played for Kentucky in the 1970s. Steve is Zeke Correll’s father. Gabe Correll played for Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips at Kentucky from 2008-12. Zeke Correll is the youngest of nine kids in a family with deep Kentucky ties.

That could end up mattering in this transfer recruitment.

The Correll family has multiple University of Kentucky graduates and is located just up the road in Cincinnati. The Wildcat legacy could finally be following in his family’s footsteps after five years at Notre Dame.

Scouting Notebook

Zeke Correll was an established starter in one of the best offensive line programs in college football. To get a quick look at what the transfer could bring to his next team, we checked out the 2023 Notre Dame tape against Louisville and Clemson.

These are my takeaways.

Somewhat undersized center that is at his best playing on the move. Good reach blocker that climbs up to the second level in both the run and screen game. Locks on to both linebackers and safeties in space. Good puller that can relocate for pass protection or climb to the next level in gap schemes. Play strength is a concern. Has some anchor issues in pass protection and does not create much movement at the point of attack. Has a tendency to fall off blocks. Projects as a good fit in a zone scheme thanks to positional athleticism and twitch shown on reach blocks. More than capable in protection. Has multiple reps where he gets outmuscled at the point of attack. Drive blocking is a concern.

Kentucky has gone on record about wanting to get more physically dominant at the point of attack. Zeke Correll is not going to dominate SEC interior defensive line players in the run game, but this is a tough and smart center who has played through injuries and is productive in pass protection. Can bring value as a puller and in the screen game as a blocker in space.