Transfer Portal: Former Notre Dame safety Ben Minich commits to Miami (Ohio)

Former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chuck Martin has added another former Irish football player to his Miami (Ohio) roster.

On Saturday, Notre Dame safety Ben Minich announced his commitment to continue his college career with the Redhawks. The 6-foot, 197-pounder has two years of eligibility remaining.

When Minich officially signs with Miami, he will become the third Notre Dame player to transfer to Oxford, Ohio, in the last four years. Previously, Martin added former Irish wide receivers Deion Colzie (2025) and Joe Wilkins Jr. (2023). As On3’s No. 104 safety in the 2026 transfer portal, Minich becomes Miami’s top addition this cycle.

A product of West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West, Minich returns to Southwest Ohio with a chance to become a key contributor to the Redhawks’ defensive backfield. Because of the talent ahead of him in the Notre Dame secondary room, he never had that opportunity to crack the rotation as a full-time defensive player in South Bend. But he still served as a key special teams contributor.

The last two seasons, Minich logged 256 special teams snaps, primarily assisting on the kick coverage and punt return teams. He also made occasional appearances on punt coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, he made two tackles on special teams.

That would mean Minich’s other eight tackles during his Notre Dame career came on defense. He saw 76 snaps there for the Irish over the last three seasons and also had a pass breakup. Minich began his career as a free safety, but transitioned to nickel the last two seasons.

Minich signed with the Irish in 2023 as one of the top recruits in his class. A four-star prospect, he was the No. 306 overall player, No. 27 safety nationally and No. 9 prospect in Ohio, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He held offers from nine other programs in high school, including Miami (Ohio), Indiana, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, Duke and Iowa State.

His teammate at Lakota West, safety Taebron Bennie-Powell, followed him to South Bend in the next class. But Bennie-Powell is also in the transfer portal with three years of eligibility remaining. He has announced offers to continue his career at Boise State and Central Michigan.

Which other Notre Dame players have also entered the NCAA Transfer Portal?

In addition to Minich and Bennie-Powell, 16 other former Notre Dame football players — including three walk-ons — have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Here’s how many years of eligibility they have and where they have ended up.

• QB Kenny Minchey, two years of eligibility remaining (signed with Kentucky)
• Walk-on QB Anthony Rezac, three years of eligibility remaining (committed to South Dakota State)
• RB Gi’Brian Payne, one year of eligibility remaining (signed with Cincinnati)
• Walk-on WR Leo Scheidler, one year of eligibility remaining
• WR KK Smith, two years of eligibility remaining
• WR Scrap Richardson, four years of eligibility remaining
• Walk-on WR Alex Whitman, two years of eligibility remaining
• DL Joshua Burnham, one year of eligibility remaining (committed to Indiana)
• DL Armel Mukam, two years of eligibility remaining
• EDGE Preston Zinter, two years of eligibility remaining
• LB Bodie Kahoun, three years of eligibility remaining
• LB Anthony Sacca, four years of eligibility remaining (committed to UCLA)
• CB Karson Hobbs, two years of eligibility remaining (committed to Florida State)
• CB Cree Thomas, four years of eligibility remaining (committed to Colorado)
• CB Chance Tucker, one year of eligibility remaining
• S JaDon Blair, four years of eligibility remaining (committed to Missouri)