Notre Dame a Finalist for Clemson DT transfer Scott Pagano
Over the weekend defensive tackle Scott Pagano announced that he would be transferring from Clemson for his final year of eligibility. At the time it was reported that Notre Dame reached out, but in our report we noted that it could be more wishful thinking than anything else. Well, it looks like it might be more than wishful thinking. On Monday, 247Sports reported that Notre Dame was one of seven finalists for Pagano.
According to the report; Oklahoma, Cal, Oregon, Nebraska, Texas and Arkansas are among the the finalists for Pagano along with Notre Dame.
When Dabo Swinney accounced Pagano’s transfer on Friday, he said that he thought the defensive tackle would head out to the west coast to be closer to family (he’s from Hawaii). Among Pagano’s lists of finalists though, only two programs – Cal & Oregon – would be considered on the west coast.
Interestingly enough, three of the programs on Pagano’s list will have new head coaches in 2017 – Oregon, Texas, and Cal.
If Notre Dame is able to lure Scott Pagano to South Bend, it would be just another positive step in Notre Dame’s surprisingly strong off-season. Pagano could step in and start from day one for Notre Dame which is also likely part of the allure of the Irish for the soon to be former Clemson defender.
The future of Daniel Cage is still clouded due to lingering concussion issues and outside of the Cager, Notre Dame has very limited experience on the interior defensive line. Elijah Taylor played more than normal in the regular season finale against USC and stepped up to the challenge, but landing Pagano as a stop gap at defensive tackle would be huge boost to the Notre Dame defense under first year defensive coordinator Mike Elko.
Before reducing his list of schools down to seven, Pagano received interest from at least 37 programs since his announcement on Friday. According to 247Sports, Pagano will be setting up visits with his finalists before enrolling somewhere in May.
Before enrolling at Clemson four years ago, Pagano was a 4-star recruit and one of the top 25 defensive tackles in the country. This past season he played in 12 games for Clemson taking just under 300 snaps registering 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.
CBS Sports has Pagano projected as one of the top 10 defensive tackles in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Oregon’s pretty far west too…
People typically separate the “Northwest” from the “West Coast.” They are two different regions. Much like New York is considered as “East Coast” but Georgia is considered as “Southern.”