Notre Dame adds Jon Sot, former Harvard punter, from transfer portal

Notre Dame's special teams remodel appears to be complete. 

The Irish received a commitment from Jon Sot, a former punter at Harvard, via the transfer portal, adding its second special teams transfer this month. 

"I can't wait to get to South Bend and chase a national championship," Sot wrote on Twitter. 

Sot, a graduate senior, will have one year of eligibility remaining when he gets to Notre Dame. He replaces Jay Bramblett, who entered the transfer portal following the Irish's 37-35 loss to then No. 9 Oklahoma State in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. Bramblett committed to LSU on Monday, following former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and former special teams coordinator Brian Polian. 

In three seasons at Harvard, Sot averaged 40.8 yards per punt, ending his Crimson career as the all-time leader in career punting yards average. Last year he was named to the 2021 FCS Punter of the Year Award Preseason Watch List and was also a preseason All-Ivy League first teamer. He was also a first-team honoree in 2018, Ivy league first-teamer in 2019 and preseason Ivy League first-team in 2020 before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. 

"Jon can do it all. If you want to pin the opponent down, he can pin the opponent down. If you need a 50-yard punt, he can manage that. He’s kind of like a baseball pitcher. He’s got a lot of different pitches," Harvard coach Tim Murphy told Harvard Magazine last December. 

Sot joins former Arkansas State kicker Blake Grupe, who replaces graduated kicker Jonathan Doerer, as the second special teams transfer first-year Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman has added this season.

Notre Dame also signed three-star punter, Bryce McFerson to its 2022 recruiting class, who will likely compete with Sot for the starting punter spot.

The Irish also added transfer help for their defense, former Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph, to replace two-time All-American Kyle Hamilton, who declared for the 2022 NFL Draft before the Fiesta Bowl. 

Along with a new kicker and punter, Notre Dame's specialist will be coached by a new voice in Brian Mason, who replaced Polian after spending the last three seasons as Cincinnati's special teams coordinator. 

The Irish open the 2022 season on Sept. 3 at Ohio State.