Former Notre Dame DE Ovie Oghoufo picks Texas for grad transfer

Ovie Oghoufo will trade in his gold helmet for burnt orange longhorns.

The former Notre Dame defensive end announced Tuesday on Twitter that he plans to graduate transfer to Texas. Oghoufo entered the transfer portal earlier this month following his junior season with the Irish.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Oghoufo played in 11 games last season as a backup at the vyper defensive end position and on special teams. He recorded 10 tackles, two pass breakups, 1.5 sacks and one quarterback hurry while working in a rotation with graduate senior Daelin Hayes and sophomore Isaiah Foskey.

Oghoufo, who played 149 defensive snaps last season according to Pro Football Focus, would have likely been in a rotation with Foskey once again in 2021 with sophomore-to-be Jordan Botelho challenging for playing time. Oghoufo’s departure created a clearer path for Botelho with incoming freshman Will Schweitzer (6-5, 205) and Devin Aupiu (6-5, 220), both three-star recruits out of California, also entering the mix.

Notre Dame signed Oghoufo as a three-star recruit out of Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison in the 2018 class. 247Sports slated Oghoufo as the No. 37 outside linebacker in the country. Rivals ranked him 40th at the position.

Oghoufo didn’t play as a freshman but was named Notre Dame’s Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year. He played in nine games as a sophomore in 2019 with 12 tackles, one sack, one pass breakup and three quarterback hurries.

Seven Notre Dame players have entered the transfer portal since the end of the 2020 season. Safety Houston Griffith removed himself from the transfer portal to stay at Notre Dame. Four others have announced their transfer destinations: wide receiver Jafar Armstrong (Illinois), cornerback Isaiah Rutherford (Arizona), center Colin Grunhard (Kansas) and Oghoufo (Texas).

Running back Jahmir Smith and linebacker Jack Lamb have yet to declare their decisions.