Notre Dame Lands Alabama Transfer Defensive Back DeVonta Smith

It would appear that Notre Dame has made its first addition through the transfer portal for the 2025 season, with reports being that the Irish have landed a commitment from Alabama defensive back Devonta Smith. Both ESPN and On3 are reporting that Notre Dame has landed Smith, who was the starting nickel for Alabama this past season.

Max Olson from ESPN and Pete Nakos from On3 both report that Smith has chosen the Irish, although no one from Notre Dame has responded to requests for confirmation. 

Smith played a career-high 421 snaps this season for Alabama after playing just 57 combined snaps in the three previous seasons. His previous high was 30 snaps during the 2023 season. Smith finished the 2024 season with 30 tackles, five pass break ups and a forced fumble. His five break ups were second on the defense behind safety Malachi Moore.

The 6-0, 205-pound native of Ohio played the Husky position for Alabama, which is essentially the nickel spot in the Notre Dame defense. According to the Alabama statistics for the season, Smith started 11 of 12 games this season for the Crimson Tide in that position.

Smith adds some veteran depth to the cornerback room, but he's also likely being recruited to battle for the nickel spot. It was manned this season by Jordan Clark, who transferred in from Arizona State. The previous season (2023) it was manned by Oklahoma State transfer Thomas Harper. Notre Dame appears to be dipping into the portal for the fourth straight season to fill that role, although there will likely be more competition for Smith than we saw the two previous seasons.

Smith is also far less experienced than both Clark and Harper. Clark had over 1,500 career snaps at Arizona State before coming to Notre Dame. Harper had over 1,000 career snaps when he arrived in South Bend. Smith will arrive with fewer than 500 career snaps.

Looking at the numbers, according to Pro Football Focus, Smith allowed 19 catches on 29 attempts this season for 123 yards, which is just 4.2 yards per target and 6.5 yards per completion. He didn't allow a touchdown all season, but neither did Clark. The Irish nickel allowed 18 completions on 32 attempts for 170 yards (9.4 YPC, 5.3 YPT). Smith's yards per target and yards per completion allowed are lower than both Clark's in 2024 and Harper's in 2023.