A longtime contributor to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense and a veteran of the sport has found a home for his final year of college football. NaNa Osafo-Mensah has committed to transfer to the TCU Horned Frogs through the college football transfer portal.
Osafo-Mensah’s commitment immediately bolsters a TCU defense that needed some TLC this offseason.
NaNa Osafo-Mensah Transfers to TCU
While he didn’t quite grab the headlines like some of his defensive mates during his time with the Fighting Irish, Osfao-Mensah was a key component of their pass-rushing plans and a vital contributor in each of the past three seasons.
Playing a rotational role at Notre Dame, Osafo-Mensah recorded four career sacks and nine career tackles for loss with the Fighting Irish. But he broke out, in a way, during the 2023 season.
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By all stretches of the word, Osafo-Mensah’s breakout year in 2023 saw him record career-highs in every defensive metric. And he did so against arguably one of the better opponents the Irish saw in his tenure in South Bend.
Osafo-Mensah recorded two sacks against USC and dominated the action when he was on the field.
Committing to TCU, Osafo-Mensah can utilize his positional versatility and large frame in a defensive front that lacks both skill sets returning to the field in 2024. For Notre Dame, Osafo-Mensah line up everywhere from inside against guards to a two-point stance as an outside linebacker.
For TCU, no edge rusher found much consistency nor success in 2023 from either alignment, albeit down in a two-point stance, heads up over tackles, or even shading inside against guards. Both rising third-year players Michael Ibukun-Okeyode and Paul Oyewale offer up similar skills to Osafo-Mensah, but the Notre Dame transfer has a more proven track record of wreaking havoc than the former.
Time will tell how many snaps he’ll play, but with the flashes he’s shown and his versatility in hand on his way to Fort Worth, don’t be surprised if you see a lot more of Osafo-Mensah in 2024.