Notre Dame WR Tobias Merriweather to enter transfer portal
Notre Dame already lost senior Chris Tyree to the transfer portal, and Wednesday, the position group took another hit. Sophomore wide receiver Tobias Merriweather will enter the transfer portal, he announced on social media.
Merriweather has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-4, 204-pound graduate of Camas (Wash.) Union was considered one of the higher-potential players on Notre Dame’s roster, but he did not have the breakout season many expected in 2023. Merriweather finished his year with 14 receptions for 284 yards — an impressive 20.3 yards per reception — and 2 touchdowns.
The sophomore saw his snap counts slightly decrease from the first half of the season to the second half, from the 30s and 40s to the teens and 20s. He went from being listed as a starter on Notre Dame’s official depth chart to marked down as the second-string field receiver behind freshman Rico Flores Jr.
He broke back into the starting lineup for the final two games of the season, wins over Wake Forest and Stanford.
While Merriweather wasn’t as productive as many hoped in South Bend, he still produced a few highlight-reel plays. First, he galloped down the field for a 45-yard catch-and-run to set Notre Dame up in scoring position in Week 2 against North Carolina State, only being brought down by graduate linebacker and Butkus Award finalist Payton Wilson.
One week later, Merriweather got open downfield and caught a 75-yard touchdown from graduate quarterback Sam Hartman against Central Michigan. As a freshman in 2022, his lone reception was a 41-yard score in a 16-14 loss to Stanford.
Merriweather was the No. 133 player in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking and a consensus four-star prospect. He chose Notre Dame over Oregon, Stanford, Arizona and Utah, among other western schools.
His departure comes one day after Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman parted ways with wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey, citing the performance and development of the position.
“Over the past few days, we had continued discussions on the overall performance of our wide receiver group and my expectations for the development of that position,” Freeman said. “I decided it was in the program’s best interest to part ways.”
Without Merriweather and Tyree, Notre Dame will rely on — assuming none of them leave — freshmen Rico Flores Jr., Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison next season. Juniors Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie will get looks as well, as could five-star incoming freshman Cam Williams.
The Irish will likely look to the transfer portal for receiver help as well.
