PROVO — Notre Dame tight end Tyler Luatua will not transfer from the university and enroll at BYU, Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly announced Friday.

Luatua played in 20 of 26 games over two years with Notre Dame, but didn't register a stat other than a 6-yard kickoff return. Used primarily as a blocking tight end, the 6-foot-2, 255-pounder who played at La Mirada High in Southern California said he will return to the program instead of transferring to other institutions after the spring semester.

"Tyler came to me in the last couple of weeks and expressed his unquestioned desire to rejoin the program," Kelly said in a statement. "Fortunately, we are in a position from a roster standpoint to bring him back. He's most-certainly grateful for the opportunity and I'm convinced this is the right thing for him."

Luatua previously committed to BYU after the spring semester, but decided to return to Notre Dame instead.

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Former Notre Dame tight end Tyler Luatua announced his intentions to transfer to BYU via Twitter on Monday, just a day before new football coach Kalani Sitake was set to sign his first recruiting class in Provo.

"Family is extremely important to me, and I had a strong desire to get closer to them, which led to my initial decision to seek a transfer," Luatua said in a statement. "However, once I was able to truly sit down with them and talk about everything, it became obvious that Notre Dame has become my home. I regretted my decision and realized that this place is where I should be, and need to be, moving forward.

"I'm thankful that it worked out."

Luatua would have sat out the 2016 season per NCAA transfer rules and been eligible for two seasons in Provo. With his return to Notre Dame, the Cougars currently have seven tight ends list on their roster, with Tanner Balderee or Nate Sampson listed as the starters on the post-spring depth chart.

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