Rough Opening Weekend, But Notre Dame’s Portal Window Is Still Open

It was a discouraging opening weekend of the transfer portal winter window for Notre Dame. While other programs were adding playmakers and building early portal momentum, Notre Dame took two losses without even getting players to campus. Nick Marsh chose Indiana and Jontez Williams committed to USC, both canceling scheduled visits to South Bend. The end result was jarring: Notre Dame didn’t host a single transfer visitor this weekend while other major programs across the country were actively upgrading their rosters.

That frustration is real — but the portal picture for Notre Dame still hinges on what happens next, not what happened today.

Defensive Tackle Still Drives Everything

Defensive tackle still remains the top priority by a wide margin, and it’s where Notre Dame can still flip the narrative of this portal window. Importantly, none of the Irish’s primary DT targets have signed elsewhere, and the visit list for tomorrow is strong.

Notre Dame is set to host UCF’s Horace Lockett, Penn State’s Xavier Gilliam, and Wake Forest’s Mateen Ibirogba – three players who would all represent meaningful additions to the interior rotation. Hitting it out of the park at DT wouldn’t just address the roster’s most pressing need; it would immediately change the early perception of this portal cycle.

If Notre Dame lands impact talent up front, early misses elsewhere become far easier to stomach.

Wide Receiver Miss Hurts, Board Likely Expands

At wide receiver, the optics sting more than the urgency. Notre Dame did add Ian Strong from Rutgers to the visitor list, but it’s increasingly clear the Irish may need to widen the search. It’s also a tough look to lose your top wide receiver to an in-state program that you once ruled over without even getting a visit.

Two names that would make sense to monitor are Reed Harris from Boston College and Isiah Canion from Georgia Tech – particularly Canion, who was once committed to Notre Dame and fits a familiar evaluation profile for the staff. Whether Notre Dame chooses to push hard here or stay selective remains to be seen, but receiver shouldn’t be assumed “done.”

Cornerback Was A Luxury, But…

Cornerback was never a necessity with Leonard Moore and Christian Gray returning along with a ton of young and talented defensive backs, but it’s also a position where Notre Dame has quietly found value in the portal the last three cycles — especially at nickel. Thomas Harper, Jordan Clark, and Devonta Smith all played well at the nickel though Smith had a hard time staying healthy this year.

Even if it’s not urgent, it would be surprising if the Irish didn’t continue to explore options here.

Tulsa TE Brody Foley added to Notre Dame visitor list

One bit of late movement did emerge as the weekend approached, with Notre Dame adding Brody Foley, the Tulsa transfer tight end, to its visitor list. Tight end hadn’t initially been part of the portal conversation given the young talent already on the roster, but with Eli Raridon off to the NFL, adding an established pass catcher at the position makes sense if Notre Dame is going to take one.

Foley is coming off a highly productive 2025 season at Tulsa, where he emerged as one of the most effective scoring tight ends in the country. While his addition doesn’t erase the frustration of a quiet portal weekend, it does show Notre Dame remains active and opportunistic — targeting experience and defined roles rather than chasing volume for optics alone.

Today was rough for Notre Dame. Two canceled visits, no visitors of their own, and a reminder that Notre Dame isn’t immune to portal momentum swings. But this window will ultimately be judged by results at defensive tackle. If Notre Dame delivers there, this opening stumble fades quickly. If not, days like this start to feel more consequential than they should.