Notre Dame updates roster with number changes, newcomers
Notre Dame updated its official roster Wednesday afternoon. Each summer enrollee is now listed on the roster, and two returning players will be wearing different numbers in 2023.
Running back Gi’Bran Payne switched from No. 13 to No. 3. Tight end Holden Staes took No. 13, switching from No. 85.
Staes, a sophomore, caught one pass in his first season with Notre Dame: an 11-yard reception against BYU. He played 83 offensive snaps (per PFF), mostly as a run-blocker, and was targeted twice through the air. Staes hopes to be more invoplved in the offense this season, with a new number and (more significantly) Michael Mayer going to the NFL.
Payne only played two offensive snaps this past season, carrying twice for five yards, and also appeared on Notre Dame’s kick return unit. The redshirt freshman is one of several running backs hoping to earn carries behind Audric Estimé, along with fellow redshirt freshman Jadarian Price, Penn State transfer Devyn Ford and true freshman Jeremiyah Love.
A trio of Ivy League transfers — punter Ben Krimm and defensive linemen Grant Ristoff (both Penn) and Cole Aubrey (Princeton) — are Nos. 43, 58 and 96. Notre Dame had success with an Ivy League punter last season, as Jon Sot produced one of the better punting years the Irish had seen.
Twenty true freshmen received numbers as well, including Love, who is No. 22. Receiver Kaleb Smith — the freshman; Virginia Tech transfer receiver Kaleb Smith had to step away from football — is No. 11. Continuing down the list: safety Luke Talich is No. 28, tight end Henry Garrity is No. 42 and kicker Marcello Diomede is No. 48.
Getting into the lineman numbers, defensive lineman Boubacar Traore will wear No. 51. Offensive linemen Chris Terek and Charles Jagusah are Nos. 55 and 56. Rounding out the 50s is long snapper Andrew Kros at No. 57.
OL Joe Otting and Sullivan Absher are Nos. 64 and 75. Receiver Jordan Faison is No. 80, while tight end Cooper Flanagan is No. 87. Two D-linemen occupy the 90s in Armel Mukam (93) and Eric Lindstrom (94).
Each of the Ivy League transfers, Talich, Garrity, Diomede, Kros, Faison and Lindstrom are all walk-ons.
Late additions are always possible, but at least for now, Notre Dame’s roster appears to be set for the 2023 season. Irish players are on campus for the summer, and with the Irish playing in Week 0, fall camp will likely start in late July.
