Notre Dame starting center Zeke Correll enters his name into the transfer portal
Notre Dame football’s longtime starting center is moving on from the program. On Monday, graduate student Zeke Corell announced his intention to enter the transfer portal. He has one more year of collegiate eligibility remaining.
“First and foremost, I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for walking with me on this journey,” Correll said in a statement on social media. “Thank you to my teammates who have gone to battle with me and upheld the Notre Dame standard. The people are what make this special, and my last 5 years have been nothing short of a blessing.
“That being said, I am looking for a new opportunity in my final season of eligibility and am entering my name in the transfer portal.”
Correll was the third Notre Dame football player to enter the transfer portal Monday. Graduate student defensive lineman Nana Osafo-Mensah and senior wide receiver Chris Tyree also announced their intentions to move on from the Fighting Irish.
The 6-foot-3, 306-pound Correll from Cincinnati Anderson High appeared in 39 games during his Fighting Irish career. He started in the last 23 at center during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Correll also earned the first nod at left guard six times in 2021 and twice at center in 2020.
Correll concluded his Notre Dame career in concussion protocol. He last played in an Irish uniform on Nov. 4 in Notre Dame’s 31-23 loss to Clemson. However, after 32 snaps against the Tigers, the Irish ruled him out with a head injury. He did not play in the final two regualr season games against Wake Forest and Stanford.
Before that game, Correll was one of the program’s top offensive linemen this season. According to Pro Football Focus, he had the second-best pass-blocking grade (78.0) on the team behind junior left tackle Joe Alt (92.2).
Correll also had the third-best PFF Pass Blocking Efficiency grade, a PFF Signature stat measuring pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed. Correll’s efficiency is 98.0. It only trailed his replacement, Ashton Craig (98.2) and Alt (99.1). Correll had only surrendered 11 pressures in 288 pass-blocking snaps.
In 2022, Correll’s Pass Block Efficiency grade was 98.2. That trailed Alt (99.0) and former starting offensive linemen Josh Lugg (98.5) and Jarrett Patterson (98.8).
Correll was a four-star recruit ranked within the top 100 prospects coming out of Cincinnati Anderson. He held offers from about 20 other Power Five programs. Correll signed with the Irish over Clemson, Ohio State and Stanford.
