Notre Dame football's leading receiver, Rico Flores Jr., is entering the transfer portal. The highly-recruited Flores emerged as the team's leading pass catcher this season after a spring battle for a place on the roster.

Flores Jr. joins other Irish receivers, Chris Tyree, Tobias Merriweather, and Braylon James, in the transfer portal as the 2023 season winds down. It's been a week of turmoil for Notre Dame football, who relieved receiver coach Chansi Stuckey of his duties this past Tuesday.

News of Flores Jr.'s departure Friday afternoon leaves the Fighting Irish with potentially only four receivers for their yet-to-be-determined bowl game, The Athletics' Pete Samson reported. The short list of remaining Irish receivers includes Jayden Thomas, Matt Salerno, Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison.

Flores Jr.'s best game came on November 18th against Wake Forest, where he caught eight passes for 102 yards. The freshman's longest reception of the season — an impressive 60-yarder, came in Notre Dame's 58-7 rout of Pittsburgh in South Bend on October 28th.

The 6'0″ 198-pound freshman grabbed 27 catches and one touchdown for Notre Dame this season, totaling 392 yards.

Flores Jr., a native of North Highlands, California, is a Folsom (California) High School graduate. Before becoming an early enrollee at South Bend, he received offers from several big-time programs, including Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and LSU.

College bowl aficionados have the 9-3 Irish potentially lined up for the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida, and the Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando. After regular season play last Sunday, over 170 FBS players have entered the transfer portal in 2023.