Graduate transfer safety expected to visit Notre Dame

On Friday, former Rhode Island safety Antonio Carter took to Twitter to announce that he picked up an offer from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. And multiple sources tell Blue & Gold that Carter will be visiting South Bend this upcoming week.

Irish sources are expecting Carter to visit in the next few days, and we’d expect for it to be an official visit. Carter messaged Blue & Gold Sunday and said that he “believes” he’ll be at Notre Dame Wednesday.

During the weekend of April 29, Carter took a visit to Ole Miss. He visited Wisconsin before that. Both programs have offered him a scholarship, as well as Iowa, USF, Washington, Indiana, Oregon State, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Minnesota, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, SMU, Louisville, Baylor, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State, UNLV, Virginia and Utah State.

Carter entered the transfer portal April 16. He’s a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining, which certainly makes him an intriguing option for the Fighting Irish.

During the 2022 football season, Carter started all 11 games for Rhode Island and finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles. The 6-1, 200-pounder from Orlando, Fla. had 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and 10 pass break ups.

He made 10 starts during the 2021 season and finished the year with 52 tackles, one sack, seven pass break ups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Notre Dame safety outlook

Irish safeties coach Chris O’Leary met with the media in early April and was asked about the potential of bringing in a transfer safety.

“It’s evaluating this spring how ready our two-deep was to play on the big stage and push for a national title,” O’Leary said. “That’s the decision we’re making. Beyond that, we have numbers that we want to get guys to develop. We’re always evaluating that situation. I’ve told them we might look in the portal in May. It just depends. That’s a fluid situation.”

The Irish already added one transfer portal defensive back in the offseason when former Oklahoma State standout Thomas Harper joined the Notre Dame football program. Sources have told Blue & Gold that Harper can be a replacement for Brandon Joseph at safety and Tariq Bracy at cornerback; Harper is one versatile player.

Notre Dame also returns a trio of experienced safeties in DJ Brown, Ramon Henderson and Xavier Watts. The Irish added Adon Shuler and Ben Minich at the position in the 2023 class; both players enrolled at Notre Dame in January.

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