Notre Dame 99-to-0: The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie

At the beginning of March, Notre Dame projected to have 94 scholarship players this fall, nine more than the maximum allowed by the NCAA.

Then, an incoming freshman (safety Brandyn Hillman) asked out of his National Letter of Intent. Next, a handful of medical retirements or steps away from the football program before spring practices commenced (headlined by quarterback Ron Powlus III and offensive lineman Caleb Johnson) accounted for most of expected roster movement. Eventually, Virginia Tech transfer receiver Kaleb Smith retired toward the end of spring practices.

At that point, the Irish were down to 86 players expected to be on the roster for preseason practices, a reasonable spot to be in with summer attrition likely to shed a few more players before Notre Dame flies to Dublin. Mid-summer transfer announcements may no longer be a consistent piece of college football thanks to the narrowed transfer windows, but graduate students can enter the transfer portal at any point and maintain immediate eligibility. For that matter, undergraduate players can transfer at any point; they just have to wait a season to play.

Logic said, either those dynamics or an injury would presumably knock the Irish to the NCAA maximum of 85 scholarship players. Instead, four juniors hopped into the transfer portal as Notre Dame closed spring practices. Losing receiver Lorenzo Styles, linebacker Prince Kollie, quarterback Tyler Buchner and running back Logan Diggs robbed the Irish of some talent, some top-line depth and of any wondering about scholarship numbers.

At 82 players now, Notre Dame should not flirt with crossing the threshold of 85 this summer. Adding more than three transfers would be a surprise, and the Irish may not find