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The transfer portal has become one of the biggest stories in college football.
Here’s a look at how the Fighting Irish fared in the open transfer portal window at the start of January.
Notre Dame Football in the transfer portal
Incoming players: 7 transfers
Outgoing players: 14 transfers
On paper, the Irish had a slow start to the transfer portal.
On paper, Notre Dame missed out on two of the top defensive tackles in the portal and the top wide receiver available. In the meantime, the Irish watched as other teams pulled in the first wave of players in the portal and over a dozen players transferred out. It felt like Irish general manager Mike Martin was losing out.
Head coach Marcus Freeman might have wanted to go a little faster in the portal, too. Martin was the one who slowed it all down.
"I’m an aggressive person. You know that," Freeman said. "I want to go a thousand miles an hour. And Mike Martin continued to reiterate to me, he said, ‘Marcus, let’s run our race. Run our race.’"
Martin’s race proved to be the perfect speed for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame lost 14 players in the portal, with the most consequential loss being pass rusher Joshua Burnham. He transferred to Indiana. After the Irish were silent for the first week, they had four signees on Jan. 13.
The defense got better, as Alabama edge rusher transfer Keon Keeley, Colorado defensive back transfer DJ McKinney and Michigan cornerback transfer Jayden Sanders all landed in South Bend. On offense, quarterback CJ Carr has Ohio State wide receiver transfers Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham to throw to.
Later, the Irish also added a kicker.
The most important transfers of all, however, were Pitt defensive tackle Francis Brewu and Oregon defensive tackle Tionne Gray.
What’s most notable is how most of the Irish’s transfer additions are underclassmen. This means they’ll be in South Bend for this season and next year.
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Big picture view:
Notre Dame had one glaring need in the portal.
The Irish really needed to get better in the defensive trenches, period.
With Donovan Hinish medically retiring, Jared Dawson exhausting his eligibility and Jason Onye’s status up in the air, Notre Dame needed bodies and starters. They got both.
Brewu is the highlight of the portal. He comes to Notre Dame from a Pitt team that had a stellar defense last season, especially in the run game. Taking the spotlight in the interior takes pressure off returning lineman Elijah Hughes, and Brewu also allows Notre Dame to be a light quicker up front. They won’t sacrifice in power, though.
Gray brings mass to the Irish front at 6-foot-6 and 336 pounds. He’s not the kind of player you count on to bring in 10+ sacks in a season, but you can count on him in short-yardage situations and to fill the gaps in the running game.
This is a good time to mention Onye also earned a waiver to return to Notre Dame next season. The Irish have a full and deep rotation of defensive linemen next season.
The Irish went into the offseason needing an answer at defensive tackle. They got it. Notre Dame’s defense should be one of the country’s best next season.
What remains to be seen is whether Sanders or McKinney’s presence means that starting cornerback Christian Gray would move into the slot.
McKinney had a stellar 2024 campaign when he played opposite Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Now, he plays opposite All-American cornerback Leonard Moore.
Alabama transfer DeVonta Smith took over that role last season for the Irish, but he’s out of eligibility. Gray or McKinney could be that slot role, or the Irish could trust Dallas Golden in the slot to deepen the outside cornerback rotation.
What they're saying:
"I’m just proud of all of us and especially our personnel department led by Mike Martin in terms of their patience, their very intentional visits, conversations," Freeman said on Jan. 14. "Not being in a race to be maybe the first one, right? But to be patient and get the right one."