Notre Dame Lands Mammoth DT; What Tionne Gray Brings to South Bend

The waiting game has paid off for Notre Dame again, this time as they land a commitment from Oregon transfer DL Tionne Gray.

Gray entered the portal on January 11, two days after the Ducks fell to Indiana at the Peach Bowl. The 6-6, 336-pound tackle ranks as the #3 DL and #17 overall transfer, according to 247 Sports. 

The former Duck visited South Bend on January 15, his first trip since entering the portal, and committed to Notre Dame with three years of eligibility amidst reported interest from his home state Missouri and others.

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As a recruit coming out of Hazelwood Central in St. Louis, Gray was rated as a three-star DL in the class of 2024 (247). Ironically, National Recruiting Analyst Allen Trieu had former Notre Dame first-round pick Jerry Tillery as his player comparison. While also playing some OL, Gray tallied 20 tackles and four sacks as a senior. The two-way star originally committed to Missouri, but later flipped his commitment and signed with Oregon.

In his first season at Oregon in 2024, Gray recorded one tackle in four games played, thus receiving a redshirt. This season, the DL recorded 18 tackles, 2 TFLs, and a blocked kick in 13 games played, including three starts. Gray was featured in a deep, talented rotation of interior linemen with the Ducks, including A’Mauri Washington, Bear Alexander, and Terrance Green. He tallied a season-high five tackles in a dominant victory at Rutgers. Gray made his presence felt in the CFP with two tackles and blocked a field goal against JMU in the Ducks’ first-round win, and also tallied a TFL in the semifinal loss to Indiana.

Notre Dame entered the portal needing to secure at least two DTs, and landing the #3 and #7 transfer DL certainly addresses that issue. Gray is young and still has some development ahead of him with great potential. He could compete for a starting spot, but regardless, he should be heavily featured in a solid-looking interior DL group consisting of Francis Brewu, Armel Mukam, Elijah Hughes, Christopher Burgess, and Cole Mullins.

Despite his size, Gray is quick, athletic, and flexible. He fills a massive hole in the Irish defense as a true run-stopper, something they were missing last season. Gray recorded six stops with one missed tackle against the rush this year. He did not flash as much against the pass with just one recorded pressure across 99 pass rush attempts. However, as stated earlier, his young age mixed with great potential could allow him to develop into an all-around threat. For reference, in terms of sheer physical size, Gray is among the largest Notre Dame football players since Quenton Nelson in the last decade; Gray is listed on Oregon's 2025 roster as one inch taller and six pounds heavier than Nelson’s senior season.

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How would you rate Notre Dame’s transfer class? Comment below.

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