Marcus Freeman confirmed a recurring patella injury will sideline the elite five-star transfer. The Irish now look to breakout star Micah Gilbert to anchor the boundary position.
Notre Dame got some tough news at wide receiver today when head coach Marcus Freeman announced that sophomore Quincy Porter would be out for the season. Porter had already missed the first four games of the season, but a follow up surgery to his injured patella will now cost him the entire season.
Porter arrived at Notre Dame in the winter after spending his freshman season at Ohio State. As a freshman, Porter backed up star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. He caught just four passes for 59 yards in his rookie season, but expectations remained high when he arrived in South Bend. Porter was a big time recruit when he signed with the Buckeyes, grading out as a five-star recruit by both On3 and 247Sports. The New Jersey native ranked as the No. 13 player in the country by On3, No. 31 overall by 247Sports and No. 37 overall by Rivals.
As a star at Bergen Catholic, Porter caught 133 passes for 2,624 yards and 38 touchdown passes. Notre Dame expected him to bring his big time playmaking ability to its wide receiver depth chart. At 6-4, Porter has height and length that no one else on the roster possesses, and that weapon was something the Irish coaches hoped to have in the rotation this season.
Porter missed the spring while recovering from a knee injury that he suffered late in his rookie season with Ohio State. The hope was that he would return for fall camp, but he was limited during the first month of camp while he tried to get his knee back to form. That injury required a follow up surgery late in camp that cost him the first four games, and the latest follow up surgery will now cost him his season. Notre Dame did not provide any details about his recovery time and whether or not he would be able to return in the spring.
With Porter out of the mix, junior Micah Gilbert seized control of the boundary receiver position, and he's in the midst of a breakout season for the Irish. Gilbert leads Notre Dame with 334 yards and 22.3 yards per catch, and he's also tied with the team lead in touchdown catches with two. He's also second on the offense with 15 catches. Over the last two games, the Irish junior has caught 10 passes for 253 yards, including a career-best 170 yards and eight catches in the win over Michigan State. But even with Gilbert's breakout there are questions behind him, with sophomores Jerome Bettis Jr. and Elijah Burress currently developing and learning behind him.
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