Listed measurements: 6-foot-1 ½, 190 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A sophomore, McFerson has all four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: Though Notre Dame brought in a graduate transfer punter in Penn’s Ben Krimm, expect McFerson to handle the booting duties for the Irish this season.
Recruiting: A one-time Wake Forest commit, McFerson flipped to Notre Dame quickly after the Irish gave him chase. He visited South Bend in mid-November of 2021 and committed soon thereafter.
CAREER TO DATE
McFerson did not play in 2022, preserving a year of eligibility while Jon Sot starred. That was not an unexpected result for McFerson, even if the punter ahead of him was a surprise. When he committed to Notre Dame, McFerson expected to spend the season backing up Jay Bramblett. The former Irish coaching staff had an inkling Bramblett would head to the SEC, hence pursuing McFerson, and indeed, Bramblett transferred to LSU. Notre Dame then shored up any uncertainty by bringing in Sot from Harvard. McFerson and Sot had a genuine preseason competition, but Sot clearly won it.
McFerson was in position to handle kickoff duties, though, until a pre-game groin injury sidelined him before his debut at Ohio State. Walk-on Zac Yoakam stepped in and played well enough to hold the gig throughout the season, lessening the need for McFerson to risk reaggravating his groin in an expedited return.
QUOTES
New Irish special teams coordinator Marty Biagi spent 2016 in South Bend as a special teams analyst. That was Tyler Newsome’s junior year, his second as the starting punter. No, that is not usually a season to bring up when looking at the current Notre Dame roster, both because of how that year went and because seven years ago has no bearing now. But Biagi mentioned Newsome so let’s give it some context.
Newsome placed 16 of his 54 punts inside the 20-yard line that year while averaging 43.5 yards per punt. A specialist who was eventually named a team captain, Newsome was one of few bright spots in 2016.
“[McFerson] is working on fine-tuning his technique to be more consistent,” Biagi said in early April. “His leg strength is clearly there, very similar, if not stronger, to Tyler Newsome. … But now we’re trying to make sure [McFerson] can do it consistently. When we get those [individual] periods, we’re working on specific drills that make to where he can perform at the right moment.”
WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Sot has enough experience to not be doubted in any respect. Of his 57 punts last season, he set 24 inside the 20-yard line. His career average of 40.8 yards per punt would be a comfortable version of steady for the Irish.
“Comparatively, McFerson has a higher long-term ceiling, but a freshman fielding his first collegiate long snap at Ohio State in front of nearly 105,000 fans in 42 days — yes, exactly six weeks — may be a bit too worrisome for Notre Dame.
“It will not be too shocking if Sot handles the duties this season. The Irish brought him in with that as a known possibility.
“Make no mistake, McFerson will have his chance to prove his leg is too strong to be sidelined due to hypothetical nerves. Special teams coordinator Brian Mason has a very simple method of choosing a punter, he said this spring.
“‘Whoever punts the ball the farthest the most is going to punt.’”
2023 OUTLOOK
McFerson will again spend the preseason competing with an Ivy League graduate, but he should have the upper hand this August. At least, if taking Biagi at his word.
If McFerson’s leg strength compares to Newsome’s, then repeated punts longer than 45 yards should be expected, and that is what Notre Dame wants. While Krimm was steady for Penn and was brought in as a preferred walk-on with the intention of getting a chance to play, he averaged 41.6 yards per punt last year.
McFerson should outkick that. If he can do it consistently is another question.
Handling kickoff duties, however, may be off the table this season. Yoakam fared well in the role, and South Florida transfer Spencer Shrader was one of the better kickoff specialists in the country last year, even if the Bulls rarely gave him reason to show off.
RELATED READING: Penn punter Ben Krimm commits to graduate transfer to Notre Dame
DOWN THE ROAD
Krimm has two years of eligibility remaining, so if he does indeed beat out McFerson this year, he may hold onto the starting punter job into 2024.
But if McFerson receives the snap on the first fourth-and-long of the Irish season (let’s guess that comes in the third game of the year at North Carolina State, as absurd as that sounds), then the job should be his through 2026.
NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 41 Donovan Hinish, sophomore defensive tackle following in his brother’s footsteps
No. 40 Joshua Burnham, sophomore linebacker-turned-Vyper end
No. 38 Davis Sherwood, junior fullback/H-back, former walk-on
No. 34 Drayk Bowen, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, baseball infielder
No. 32 Spencer Shrader, South Florida transfer kicker
No. 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah, fifth-year defensive end
No. 29 Christian Gray, early-enrolled freshman cornerback coming off a knee injury
No. 29 Matt Salerno, sixth-year receiver, former walk-on
No. 27 JD Bertrand, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, possible captain
No. 25 Preston Zinter, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, subtle recruiting win
No. 24 Jack Kiser, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, most efficient defender
No. 24 Jadarian Price, sophomore RB, reportedly recovered from an Achilles injury
No. 23 Jaiden Ausberry, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, four-star recruit
No. 22 Ben Minich, early-enrolled freshman safety, four-star recruit
No. 22 Jeremiyah Love, incoming freshman running back, four-star recruit
No. 21 Adon Shuler, early-enrolled freshman safety coming off shoulder surgery
No. 20 Benjamin Morrison, sophomore cornerback, preseason All-American
No. 19 Jaden Greathouse, early-enrolled freshman receiver, Blue-Gold Game star
No. 18 Steve Angeli, sophomore quarterback, competing for the backup role
No. 18 Chance Tucker, junior cornerback
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 17 Rico Flores Jr., early-enrolled freshman receiver, four-star recruit
No. 16 Micah Bell, incoming freshman cornerback, speedy four-star recruit
No. 15 Ryan Barnes, junior cornerback
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth