Notre Dame football going after Small School star to try and solve some of their early transfer portal woes
Notre Dame football is now pursuing former New Mexico State defensive tackle Ezra Christensen in the transfer portal.
Notre Dame football has had some bad luck early on in the transfer portal process at defensive tackle. After missing on several of the top targets on the board, it appears head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish are getting a little more creative. Outside of former Pitt standout Francis Brewu visiting this week, there don’t seem to be a ton of realistic options out there right now.
One new name to know is Ezra Christensen, a standout interior lineman from New Mexico State. The senior is heading into his fifth and final season and has been getting a ton of attention since he entered the portal. Some of his early offers on the table already include Auburn, Washington, Kentucky, Colorado, Iowa State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Duke, UCF, Texas State, and James Madison. The Fighting Irish joined that list on Thursday.
It is very early on in the process between Christensen and Notre Dame, so who knows where things will go from here. Is this a top target for the program, or are they getting more quality options on the board? It will be interesting to see what the next step is, and whether the former New Mexico State star sets up a visit to South Bend.
Without deep diving into the film yet, Christensen appears to have some upside as a disruptor. While he has underwhelming size, his backfield production is quite impressive. His size profile is a bit similar, however, to Brewu, so it’ll be interesting to see if they go hard for him if they do land the former Pittsburgh standout. For now, this is an intriguing offer, but more context and information are needed.
Ezra Christensen’s career background
Christensen has taken an unusual path to this point in his college football career. Originally a standout at Poway High School in San Diego, California, Christiensen originally chose the junior college route. He landed at San Diego Mesa College, where he spent a year in 2022. During that season, Christensen was selected as a Region III All-California first team after collecting seven sacks. That stop earned the 6-2, 280-pound interior presence an opportunity to play at Fresno State.
The California native spent two seasons with the Bulldogs, appearing in 17 total games and collecting 12 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Christensen ended up with New Mexico State this past season, and he put together his finest season to date, earning First Team All-Conference USA honors. In 11 games with the Aggies, he managed to total 42 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble. He redshirted in 2024, which gave him the option for one more season.
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