Notre Dame football reels Armel Mukam back in from the portal | source
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SOUTH BEND — Transfer portal reversals are rare, especially at Notre Dame football, but defensive tackle Armel Mukam has delivered a much needed change of heart.
A source confirmed on Sunday Jan. 11 that Mukam, after taking visits to Georgia Tech and Virginia, decided to remove his name from the transfer portal and return to the Irish.
Mukam’s decision came several days after the arrival of new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who spent the past two seasons with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
A former consensus three-star recruit in the 2023 signing class, Mukam hails from Quebec, Canada by way of Woodberry Forest (Va.) School. He returns with two remaining years of eligibility.
At 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, Mukam stands to inherit an increased role with the Irish in 2026 due to significant attrition on the defensive line’s interior. Mukam was a lightly used backup in 2025, but his playing time increased markedly in November.
All four of his quarterback pressures took place in a three-game span against Navy, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, and four of his five tackles happened then as well. Mukam took 54 of his 69 defensive snaps over the final four games of the season.
A shoulder labrum procedure in January 2024 caused Mukam to miss spring practice. He played just 60 defensive snaps over six games that fall, but he appeared in five other games on special teams.
Notre Dame previously showed reported interest in several defensive tackle transfers who landed elsewhere: ex-Wake Forest standout Mateen Ibirogba (Texas Tech), Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam (Tennessee) and New Mexico State’s Ezra Christensen (Colorado),
Pittsburgh transfer Francis Brewu (6-2, 280) visited last week, but Tennessee, South Carolina, Ohio State and Indiana reportedly remained in play for the former Partridge signee before the veteran coach left the Panthers for the NFL.
Mukam’s return lowers the departure total to 18 for Notre Dame, including four walk-ons.
The latest outgoing Notre Dame players with reported landing spots are wide receiver KK Smith (Michigan State), safeties Taebron Bennie-Powell (Boise State) and Ben Minich (Miami, Ohio); linebackers Bodie Kahoun (Boston College) and Anthony Sacca (UCLA); and cornerback Karson Hobbs (Florida State).
Earlier in the 15-day transfer portal window, which runs Jan. 2-16, quarterback Kenny Minchey (Kentucky), cornerback Cree Thomas (Colorado), safety JaDon Blair (Missouri), defensive end Josh Burnham (Indiana), running back Gi’Bran Payne (Cincinnati) and walk-on quarterback Anthony Rezac (South Dakota State) committed elsewhere.
That’s a total of nine departures for Power-4 programs.
Still uncommitted among Notre Dame’s departing players were defensive end Preston Zinter, wideout Scrap Richardson, injured cornerback Chance Tucker, kicker Marcello Diomede and walk-on wide receivers Leo Scheidler and Alex Whitman.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football convinces Armel Mukam to reconsider transferring
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