It's official, Notre Dame has signed Florida International wide receiver Kris Mitchell. The talented pass catcher was the first transfer to commit to the Irish in this cycle and now he's officially a member of the Notre Dame program.
Mitchell had a breakout season for the Panthers in 2023, hauling in 64 passes for 1,118 yards and six touchdowns. He led Conference USA in receiving yards this season and was one of just two pass catchers to the top the 1,000-yard mark. Coming into the season he had just 36 career catches for 545 yards (15.1 YPC) and five touchdowns, but he was arguably the best receiver in the conference this past season.
Notre Dame will likely be without five receivers from its 2023 depth chart, and despite an outstanding freshman class ready to sign, there was certainly a need for at least one or two receivers from the portal. Landing Mitchell not only meets a numbers need, he adds skill the offense was often lacking this past season.
The 6-1, 175-pound pass catcher brings explosiveness to the offense. He makes a lot of plays down the field and shows the speed to take the top off the defense, something Notre Dame lost when Chris Tyree and Tobias Merriweather entered the portal. Mitchell's route running and strength improvement in 2023 were key factors in his breakout campaign, and he showed the ability to make plays after the catch in each of the last two seasons.
Mitchell fits well into the Z position in the Notre Dame offense, and his combination of vertical speed and ball skills provides the offense with a huge boost. Adding a player with his experience is also a must for an offense that will have just two upperclassmen on the roster in 2024 (Jayden Thomas, Deion Colzie).
Mitchell had some of his best games against the best teams on his schedule. He hauled in six catches for 157 yards in a loss to Arkansas, caught eight passes for 116 yards against Western Kentucky, four catches for 89 yards against Liberty, eight catches for 91 yards against New Mexico State and five catches for 109 yards against Jacksonville State.
Mitchell arrives at Notre Dame with 100 career catches for 1,663 yards (16.6 YPC) and 11 touchdowns. He will enroll for the spring semester and has just one season of eligibility remaining.
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