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Notre Dame 2026 Player Profile: Wide Receiver Matt Jeffery
- Story byRoundtable Sports
- Notre Dame 2026 Player Profile: Wide Receiver Matt Jeffery
(Angela Driskell, Irish Breakdown)
The Notre Dame wide receiving corps has been a hot topic of discussion this offseason. One player that routinely gets forgotten about is redshirt sophomore Matt Jeffery who also plays for the Notre Dame Men's Lacrosse team. Jeffery was a player that carved out a role on special teams and in certain personnel packages on offense in 2025. Now, he returns to the roster in 2026 and looks to make a bigger impact on both units this fall. The level of talent and the outlook of the receiver room has changed, but that doesn't negate the fact that Jeffery has more in-game experience in this offense than some of the up and comers.
Here is our season preview and profile for Jeffery:
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MATT JEFFERY PROFILE
Class/Eligibility: Junior/Sophomore
Height/Weight: 5-11, 195
Hometown/High School: Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire
CAREER STATS
2025: 1 rec., 37 yards, 37.0 YPC
2025 SEASON IN REVIEW
A lot of Jeffery's impact from the 2025 season came on special teams. He played in all 12 regular season games last fall on the special teams unit with the most coming against Texas A&M in week three, Purdue in week four, Syracuse in week 13 and Stanford in week 14. Jeffery played at least 18 snaps on special teams in each of those four games. The Connecticut native also carved out a role within the offense, but we didn't start to see the 5-11, 195-pound receiver make that impact until the Arkansas game.
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Offensively, Jeffery appeared in seven games last fall against Arkansas on the road, NC State, USC, Boston College on the road, Navy, Syracuse and Stanford on the road. He only has one career reception, but it came on a beautiful deep ball from quarterback Kenny Minchey in the second half against Arkansas which went for 37 yards. His role, however, was not that of a deep threat weapon on the perimeter. Jeffery was used at times around the goal line where he would line up in the slot and be utilized as a blocker.
FALL CAMP PREVIEW
With Jeffery playing Lacrosse in the spring, he will have his work cut out for him in fall camp. The overall makeup of the room is more talented from top to bottom that it was heading into fall camp last season. This year, they have both Ohio State transfers ready to go, Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse both return and young up-and-comers like Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, Elijah Burress, Bubba Frazier and Devin Fitzgerald are coming off of really strong springs.
Having said that, Jeffery is one of the fastest players in the room, and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will be looking to stretch the field vertically this season with the return of starting quarterback CJ Carr . The name of the game for Jeffery going into fall camp is to get his feet under him, make the transition from lacrosse to football and make your presence felt on offense and on special teams.
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2026 EXPECTATIONS
I fully expect Jeffery to be a starter on special teams once again like he was in 2025. The Connecticut native played on kickoff coverage, kickoff return, punt coverage and punt return units last fall for special teams coordinator Marty Biagi. Jeffery will be on those units once again in 2026. The question this season will be what kind of role will he assume on offense. Unlike some of the other players in the room, Jeffery is headed into year three of Denbrock's system and will have some established chemistry having already played on the field with Carr.
It's unlikely, at least I hope, that he'll be utilized in the short yardage and goal line packages this season as a blocker. I expect Jeffery to appear in roughly the same amount of games this year as he did last season, especially when you factor in what Notre Dame's schedule looks like prior to the weekend of October 17. He'll have the opportunity to compete for a spot in the rotation, but it'll be an uphill battle. Jeffery is a good football player. If he doesn't land a spot in this season's wide receiver rotation, it'll be more of a testament to the level of talent in the room than it will be an indictment of Jeffery.
A GOOD SEASON FOR JEFFERY WOULD BE ....
One where he starts on every special teams unit outside of the place-kicking unit and get some time on the offensive side of the ball. There's no questions around his physical abilities to contribute, but he's a player than will have his work cut out for him if he's to crack to rotation, especially with missing spring training. But a good season for the redshirt sophomore is one where he starts on every special teams unit and contributes on offense in the second half of games or in specific personnel packages.
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