Every former Notre Dame player on the Irish’s 2023 schedule
The Notre Dame-Boston College game last fall did pit a former Irish player against his old team. Just not the one that made for much of a storyline.
Former Notre Dame tight end George Takacs, who grad transferred to Boston College last spring, had 2 catches for 8 yards in the Irish’s 44-0 home win over the Eagles Nov. 19. The passer, though, was not ex-Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec. His return was the headline-maker. But an early November knee injury wiped out his chance to play in South Bend as a visitor for the first time. He had to settle for a since-deleted Instagram post.
Take 2 of the Jurkovec Notre Dame Stadium revenge game is set for this year – with him at a different school.
Jurkovec transferred to Pittsburgh in December for his sixth and final season. The Panthers play at Notre Dame Stadium Oct. 28. Once again, his return will consume the oxygen, but won’t be alone in facing his former team that day.
Pitt has two other Notre Dame transfers, running back C’Bo Flemister and linebacker Shayne Simon. Like Jurkovec, they’re sixth-year players and were part of the Irish’s 2018 recruiting class. That 2018 haul has 11 players on nine different 2023 college football rosters. Four of them will play Notre Dame this season, but in just two games.
The only former Irish players Notre Dame saw on its 2022 schedule were Jurkovec and Takacs. The 2021 season had four on four different teams: guard Dillan Gibbons (Florida State), linebacker Jonathan Jones (Toledo), wide receiver Michael Young Jr. (Cincinnati) and safety Derrik Allen (Georgia Tech). The Irish didn’t face any former players in 2020.
Here’s a look at the four on the 2023 schedule.
Quarterback Phil Jurkovec
The story is well-told. Jurkovec transferred from Notre Dame after the 2019 season and landed at Boston College. He started 24 games, throwing for 5,184 yards, 35 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He added 9 rushing scores. He faced the Irish once before, a 2020 Notre Dame win at Boston College. He transferred to Pitt for his sixth and final season of eligibility, where he reunited with former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.
Running back C’Bo Flemister
Flemister left Notre Dame after the 2021 season and landed at Pitt as a grad transfer with two years of eligibility left. He had 40 carries for 221 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first season with the Panthers, finishing fourth on the team in rushing yards. Two of the three above him exhausted their eligibility.
Flemister ran for 471 yards and 10 touchdowns in his Notre Dame career. He was fourth on the depth chart in his final season with the Irish.
Linebacker Shayne Simon
Like Flemister, Simon landed at Pitt in 2022 as a grad transfer with two years left to play. He was a 13-game starter last season, totaling 46 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 6 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble. He returns as a starter in 2023.
Simon missed all but one game in his last season at Notre Dame due to a shoulder injury suffered in the 2021 opener. He played in 31 games (eight starts) for the Irish from 2018-20, making 27 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 5 pass breakups. His best game was in 2020 against then-No. 1 Clemson, with 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 2 pass breakups.
Defensive tackle Ja’Mion Franklin
Ja’Mion Franklin enters his third season at Duke and sixth year in college football in 2023. He became a starter for the Blue Devils in 2022, compiling 26 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 5 passes broken up. He played 517 snaps, up from 219 in 2021.
Franklin left Notre Dame midway through the 2020 season. He played in the first two games that year, but not in the final three before he left. All told, he saw action in 10 games (138 snaps) during his Irish career and made eight tackles.
Notre Dame plays at Duke Sept. 30.
