Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame Starts Week Red Hot as Major Transfer Portal Commitments Roll In

Things are suddenly looking really up for Notre Dame in the transfer portal after a slow start
Nick Shepkowski|
Oct 11, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks to the scoreboard against the NC State Wolfpack during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium.
Oct 11, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks to the scoreboard against the NC State Wolfpack during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Although plenty of news has come out of the Notre Dame football offices hasn't been great this off-season, however, some of that might be changing for the better.

After early transfer portal struggles, things are heating up for Marcus Freeman's Fighting Irish.

Well, classes for the second semester of the school year start on Monday, and with that, players need to be in school. As a result, the rubber is finally meeting the road for Notre Dame on the transfer portal recruiting trail.

From help in the secondary to aide at receiver, and on the defensive line, Notre Dame is adding reinforcements. Here's the latest from South Bend:

Notre Dame Officially Lands Colorado Cornerback

Notre Dame will enter 2026 with what should be another loaded secondary, but it went ahead and got assistance officially on Monday as DJ McKinney, formerly of Colorado, announced his commitment.

McKinney's addition makes things interesting based on what is already on Notre Dame's cornerback depth chart as he was projected as a middle-round NFL draft pick before deciding to come back to school for his final year of eligibility.

Leonard Moore will clearly play outside, and be arguably the best cornerback in college football when doing so.

McKinney theoretically comes to Notre Dame with plans to start, and his size doesn't him make him likely to move inside to a Nickelback role. So based just on some critical thinking here, it would appear Christian Gray's days as a true cornerback would be numbered as we countdown to Spring football.

Keon Keeley Finally Headed to Notre Dame

Most Notre Dame fans know Keon Keeley's story by now, but a refresher just in case. The former five-star recruit originally committed to the Fighting Irish in the 2023 cycle. Despite the commitment, he wound up flipping to Alabama, where he has played the last three seasons.

Keeley has two years of eligibility remaining, and Notre Dame hopes to help him find that next gear. Through three seasons at Alabama, he has recorded 19 tackles and three sacks.

Keeley should help with edge rush as the Irish continue to work to get help on the interior of the defensive line, the spot they continue to need help the most.

Notre Dame Lands Recent Five-Star Wide Receiver

Notre Dame landed a massive fish at wide receiver on Monday, when Quincy Morgan's commitment was announced. It was just one year ago that Morgan was a five-star recruit to Ohio State, but after Buckeyes receivers coach Brian Hartline took a head coaching job at South Florida, Morgan opted for the transfer portal.

Now he's headed to Notre Dame with four years of eligibility remaining. Morgan figures to fit his 6-4 frame into the void left on the outside by departing senior Malachi Fields.

Morgan is the kind of receiver Notre Dame usually only gets as a grad-transfer out of the portal. The floor for 2026 isn't as high for Morgan as it was Michigan State's Nick Marsh, who committed to Indiana, but the ceiling for what he could ultimately do in South Bend, with four years of eligibility to work with, is also much higher.

What's Next for Notre Dame in Transfer Portal?

First and foremost, Notre Dame needs to finish the job and get help on the interior of the defensive line in this transfer portal window. Steps have been taken but no letters of intent have been signed at defensive tackle yet, and the Irish desperately need help there so be on the lookout.

Also worth keeping an eye on will be former Michigan cornerback Jayden Sanders. Sanders played in 13 games for the Wolverines as a true freshman and made 23 tackles on the year. We'll keep an eye on this throughout the day to see if there are any more developments.

Notre Dame still needs to add a veteran quarterback of some kind to the room in order to back up CJ Carr, and is yet to land a kicker after they failed to make a field goal the final six games of 2025 so continue to be on the look out at both of those, and perhaps another wide receiver as well.

Oh, and did I mention Notre Dame needs help at defensive tackle? I just want to make sure nobody in those offices forgot, but overall a big day of gets for Notre Dame before noon E.T.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

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