Monday was not much kinder to Notre Dame Fighting Irish than Sunday, as two more prospects linked to the Irish came off the board. Massive defensive tackle Horace Lockett opted to remove himself from the portal and return to UCF, while boundary receiver target Ian Strong committed to Cal despite reports he was expected to visit Notre Dame this week.
After a weekend in which the Irish watched their top boundary receiver target Nick Marsh sign with Indiana without ever visiting, and their top corner target Jontez Williams do the same with former rival USC, Notre Dame fans were hoping for better news on Monday. At least in terms of commitments, that optimism will have to wait another day.
Strong’s name gained traction with Notre Dame late Sunday as Marsh began trending toward Indiana. While Marsh was the higher-end prospect, Strong would have addressed the boundary receiver vacancy left by Malachai Fields exhausting his eligibility. With Strong now off the board, Notre Dame’s next move at receiver remains unclear, but it’s evident the staff still wants to add a true boundary option.
Two names that continue to make sense from a profile standpoint are Reed Harris of Boston College and Isiah Canion of Georgia Tech, a former Notre Dame commit. Neither has been publicly linked to Notre Dame at this time, but both fit the physical boundary receiver profile the staff appears to be targeting and come from academic backgrounds that would ease the transfer process.
Lockett’s decision to return to UCF is a significant blow because defensive tackle remains – by far – the most pressing need for Notre Dame this portal cycle. Beyond the positional urgency, Lockett offered something the Irish have lacked in recent years: sheer size. Adding a true space-eater in the middle would have given the defense a dimension it has been missing.
Notre Dame has also been linked to Xavier Gilliam of Penn State and Mateen Ibirogba of Wake Forest, both of whom were at least expected to visit this week. Still, it’s fair to question how much traction Notre Dame has generated in the portal to this point. What is clear is that the margin for error at defensive tackle is now razor-thin. If Notre Dame wants to capitalize on what could be a legitimate championship window next season, it cannot afford to miss on the interior of the defensive line.
UPDATE: Ibirogba’s visit has since been cancelled.
It wasn’t all bad news on Monday, however. Notre Dame was linked to one of the top defensive players in the portal, John Henry Daley of Utah. Before suffering an injury expected to sideline him for roughly six months, Daley earned All-American recognition from multiple outlets after posting 11.5 sacks in 2025. He is expected on campus this week.
Adding an edge player with Daley’s skill set — assuming he returns to full strength by fall camp — would address multiple needs. It would help offset the loss of Josh Burnham, who transferred to Indiana, and could allow Bryce Young to log more snaps inside, where he played over 100 snaps during the 2025 season. That kind of flexibility could help Notre Dame manage its interior depth concerns, particularly with new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who has a track record of developing productive, sometimes undersized defensive tackles during his time at Pitt.
At this point, Notre Dame fans are simply looking for tangible positive momentum in the portal. The first few days have done little to ease frustration – especially coming on the heels of Notre Dame’s controversial exclusion from this year’s playoff – and the pressure to deliver real results is only increasing.
