Notre Dame cornerback Micah Bell announced on Tuesday, April 23, that he will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. The sophomore and consensus four-star recruit shared his announcement via social media.
Bell wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “I want to thank God for all the many blessings he has given me. Without him, nothing in my life would be possible. I am grateful to Coach (Mike) Mickens, Coach (Al) Golden, and Coach (Marcus) Freeman for recruiting me and giving me an opportunity to be a student and athlete at Notre Dame.
“I want to thank all of my teammates at Notre Dame. They have challenged me on and off the field and made me better as both a player and a person. To Notre Dame nation: Thank you for taking me in as one of your own. I enjoyed getting to wear the Gold helmet and have your support. I really enjoyed connecting with you before and after games—you are truly a special group of people.
“Last but not least, I want to thank my family for helping me through this process. It is never easy to make life-changing decisions and I am grateful to have them by my side. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal.”
Four Years of Eligibility Remain for Bell
Bell played in three games for the Irish as a freshman. He made his debut against Tennessee State and played against Wake Forest and in the Sun Bowl. The Texas native recorded his first tackle against Oregon State in the Sun Bowl in December. All told, he played 21 snaps at cornerback. On Saturday, Bell recorded two tackles and two pass breakups in the Blue-Gold Game. Bell, whose brother Dillon plays at Georgia, originally selected Notre Dame over offers from Baylor, Duke, Harvard, Houston, Michigan State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, and Vanderbilt. He has four years of eligibility remaining as he redshirted in 2023.
Micah Bell is the second cornerback to depart from the program this Spring. Clarence Lewis entered the portal in the middle of the recently concluded spring practices. The Irish now have just four scholarship corners in returning Benjamin Morrison, Christian Gray, Jaden Mickey, and Chance Tucker. As a result of Bell’s departure, Notre Dame may very well be scouring the portal to add depth to its cornerback ranks.
