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Former Notre Dame linebacker Prince Kollie commits to Vanderbilt

IMG_9992by: Tyler Horka05/22/23tbhorka
On3 image
Former Notre Dame linebacker Prince Kollie (Tavan Smith, Blue & Gold).

Another former Notre Dame football player is going closer to home. Following a trend set in motion by Lorenzo Styles committing to Ohio State and Logan Diggs committing to LSU, linebacker Prince Kollie is on his way to suit up for Vanderbilt according to Pete Nakos of On3.

The Jonesborough, Tenn., native entered the transfer portal on April 24, just two days after Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Game. Kollie did not play in the Blue-Gold Game because of a concussion. He missed a large chunk of spring practices with his head injury.

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Kollie voiced some frustration earlier in the spring during the Notre Dame linebackers’ designated day to meet with the media. He said he felt like he should have been a starter by the Irish’s game against Navy on Nov. 12. He played a career-high 38 defensive snaps and recorded a career-best 7 total tackles in the Irish’s 35-32 victory in Baltimore.

Kollie only played 15 defensive snaps a week later vs. Boston College. He was only given 1 defensive snap in the regular season finale at USC and 13 against South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. In total, Kollie was on the field for 136 defensive plays in 2022. That ranked fourth among Notre Dame linebackers, but it was still 202 behind Jack Kiser for third. Marist Liufau, who plays the same will linebacker position as Kollie, led all Notre Dame defensive players with snap count of 646.

Kollie was Notre Dame’s most-used special teams player, meanwhile. He led the Irish with 231 special teams plays. It simply still wasn’t enough time on the field for Kollie to want to stay in South Bend and sit behind Kiser, Liufau and fellow graduate student JD Bertrand on the depth chart for another season. That trio is back and projected to be Notre Dame’s three starting linebackers.

Kollie now gets to spend his final two years of eligibility playing for former Irish defensive coordinator Clark Lea, who was heavily involved in Kollie’s original high school recruitment. Vanderbilt improved from 2-10 in Lea’s first season as head coach to 5-7 last year. The Commodores are knocking on the door of SEC relevancy and a possible postseason berth, and Kollie will likely be trusted to help them get there as a defensive starter for the first time in his college career.

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