Notre Dame DL Jacob Lacey leaves team, will enter transfer portal
Just a few weeks after he was a menace in Notre Dame’s 24-17 victory over California, Fighting Irish defensive tackle Jacob Lacey is no longer part of the program. Head coach Marcus Freeman broke the news in a Thursday afternoon press conference. Lacey confirmed it on Twitter almost simultaneously.
Lacey totaled five tackles, two of which were sacks, in a breakout performance against Cal. He had 35 total tackles, 6.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks in 36 games at Notre Dame. He’ll look to transfer at the end of the season with two years of eligiblity remaining.
The Bowling Green, Ky., native will leave Notre Dame with a degree in hand.
“Lacey was a great player,” Freeman said. “Lacey did a lot of great things for us. But it’s a deep position. He made a decision that ultimately he felt was best for him, and we respect it. We love Jacob.”
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Lacey released his social media message just after Freeman broke the news. He thanked Freeman and “everyone at Notre Dame.”
“I truly believe Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the country and nothing will change my opinion on that,” Lacey wrote. “The memories, the wins, the losses, the hardships, I wouldn’t have wanted to do it anywhere else in the country. This place has taught me humility, discipline and that excellence is needed on and off the field at all times.”
Lacey said he made his decision to redshirt this season and transfer at the end of the year “with lots and lots of prayer, thought, and sorrow.”
Lacey was a part of a deep rotation at defensive tackle that includes Jayson Ademilola, Howard Cross, Chris Smith and now Gabriel Rubio. Ademilola and Cross sponged up most of the snaps on the interior of the defensive line with 176 going to the former and 183 going to the latter. Lacey played 73 snaps across four games. He played a season-low nine snaps against North Carolina in Week 4.
Freeman said Smith, a graduate transfer from Harvard, and Rubio, a true sophomore, will see the field more in the wake of Lacey’s departure. He also said sophomore Jason Onye has been moved off the scout team and will take game reps going forward. Junior Rylie Mills has been used as a hybrid defensive tackle/defensive end, too. He swallowed up quite a few interior snaps against UNC.
Smith has played 46 snaps this season and is currently graded as Notre Dame’s top overall defensive player per Pro Football Focus. Rubio has played 14 snaps this year, a season-high eight of which came against North Carolina in Week 4.
“It’s just a position that is extremely deep,” Freeman said. “The defensive tackle position right now is one of the deepest positions we have on our team.”
