Jake Golic‘s football career isn’t over. The reserve tight end will spend his final season of eligibility at Cincinnati, exercising his ability to transfer and play immediately after graduating from Notre Dame last week with a degree in graphic design.
Golic appeared in just five games during his four seasons in South Bend, battling injuries and a depth chart that saw the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder fail to record a catch during his Notre Dame career. While seldom-used reserves Nick Tausch and Tyler Stockton are returning for a fifth season, there never seemed to be any plan for Golic to return.
Golic made the announcement that he’ll play next season at Cincinnati via Twitter:
“Can’t thank the ND family enough for all the love and support over the last 4 years at ND. You have made it a pleasure to be Irish! With that being said, I am incredibly excited about the opportunity of attending the University of Cincinnati and being a Bearcat!”
Joining former Irish quarterback Gunner Kiel at Brian Kelly’s old stomping grounds, Golic will get a shot at playing time in first-year coach Tommy Tuberville’s offense. It’ll be interesting to see if Golic can get off the sidelines at Cincinnati, after spending the past four seasons primarily watching the Irish.
Golic’s career at Notre Dame was an interesting one. While his older brother Mike bloomed late and became a starter during his fifth year, Jake didn’t have that opportunity, especially playing behind top draft picks Kyle Rudolph and Tyler Eifert. But with scholarship offers to only Notre Dame and UConn, the ceiling for Golic was always a question.
Golic will enter a wide open tight end race with former Bearcat Travis Kelce heading to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 63rd overall pick. He’ll battle Blake Annen and D.J. Dowdy for playing time in new offensive coordinator Eddie Gran’s system.