Senior defensive tackle Jacob Lacey made a surprising decision to leave Notre Dame football team.
Lacey has announced he will redshirt and then enter the transfer portal.
Lacey was a key part of the interior rotation for Notre Dame, and he was a standout for Notre Dame in the win over California,
Senior defensive tackle Jacob Lacey made a surprising decision to leave Notre Dame football team.
registering a career high two sacks in the win.
According to sources, Lacey was frustrated by a lack of playing time and had desired to redshirt this season.
Ultimately, Lacey decided the way to do that was to leave the team.
Lacey played 29 snaps in the opener against Ohio State and 24 snaps against California.
He played just 11 snaps against Marshall and only nine snaps against North Carolina.
Losing Lacey is a blow to the Irish interior depth chart, which has been a strength of the defense in 2022.
Lacey had been playing quite well for the Irish to start the season, and he was expected to be a key part of the rotation in 2023 thanks to his extra season.
Although he played four seasons at Notre Dame, Lacey still had a season of eligibility remaining because of the 2020
Covid-19 season. With a redshirt, Lacey will still have two seasons of eligibility remaining at whatever school he chooses to transfer to.
With Lacey out we will likely see more from sophomore defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio
, and we could also see even more of Harvard transfer Chris Smith. Both players have had limited snaps so far this season,
but both have played well. Neither, however, has the quickness and penetration ability of Lacey.