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Since the Marcus Freeman era began in 2021, Notre Dame has been known for having one of the best defenses in college football. However, after the first five games of the 2024 season, Freeman will lose one of his top recruits on that side of the ball.
After 18 unproductive games to begin his collegiate career, former top recruit Tyson Ford announced his decision to transfer on Instagram. The Saint Louis native will have three years of eligibility remaining.
After appearing in just one game and recording a single tackle as a freshman in 2023, Ford essentially opted out of the 2024 season and was not listed on Notre Dame's official roster. The defensive end took time away from the team during spring training in 2024 due to “personal reasons,” according to the South Bend Tribune. By the end of the summer, Ford joined teammate Aiden Gobaira as medical non-counters.
At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Ford was listed as a four-star recruit by both ESPN and 247Sports. He was considered the second-best recruit out of Missouri, behind only current Buffalo Bills receiver Keon Coleman.
At the time of his announcement, Ford did not state what school he was leaning toward choosing from the portal. The John Burroughs School alum confirmed that he will be graduating from Notre Dame in May and intends to enroll as a graduate student at his next destination.
Notre Dame football carries 4-1 start into its bye week
While it has not been the start to the season that they imagined, Notre Dame will still enter its bye week with a respectable 4-1 record that includes a signature Week 5 win over Louisville. The win was the team's second over a ranked opponent after topping Texas A&M in Week 1 but the story of the season thus far has been their upset loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2.
Since their Week 2 blunder, the Fighting Irish have outscored their last three opponents by a combined score of 125-34. The team rebounded from its loss by thoroughly dominating Purdue 66-7 on the road.
After five games, the wins over Texas A&M and Louisville have seemingly offset the loss to Northern Illinois, as Notre Dame enters Week 6 ranked at No. 14 in the AP poll, the same position it began the season at. Coming out of the bye week, Freeman's squad will stay in South Bend and host the Stanford Cardinal, who are off to a reasonably impressive 2-2 start. As it currently stands, the Irish are not scheduled to face another ranked team until they end the year on the road against rival USC.
