Notre Dame Impresses In The Transfer Portal After Slow Start

After a slow first week of the portal window that caused Irish anxiety, Notre Dame made a big splash in the free agency market on Monday, landing a very talented foursome of players that will now don the blue and gold in South Bend.

The announcement of these portal pickups came at the perfect time for Notre Dame, which was past due for some positive news after a rough last month.

This portal activity aids in Notre Dame's attempt to leave the frustration and pain of the way 2025 ended and look forward to brighter days, with a big opportunity to make a playoff push in 2026 behind a very athletic roster and what should be a manageable schedule.

Quality over quantity for Notre Dame

Notre Dame will never be a team that will feature 20-30 or more transfer players per season. Due to academics and general culture, this won't be how the Irish operate. The engine that drives this program will remain to be high school recruiting, with a handful or so of portal players added in to fill needs.

Monday, Notre Dame added defensive lineman Keon Keeley from Alabama, receiver Quincy Porter from Ohio State, and cornerbacks Jayden Sanders and DJ McKinney from Colorado. As far as portal transfers go, these are some heavy hitters with real physical upside.

While Notre Dame may not have the most portal players heading to South Bend, the Irish's haul is the most talented on average per player, according to on3.

Highest average rated player committed via the transfer portal. (Via on3)

Notre Dame: 84.67
BYU: 79.00
USC: 79.00
Ole Miss: 78.85
Tennessee: 78.80
Texas: 77.77
Texas A&M: 77.75
Indiana: 76.17
— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) January 12, 2026

Notre Dame is not done yet with the transfer portal

While Notre Dame's Monday haul was impressive, this portal class is not complete as the Irish still hunt for talent along the defensive line and at the kicker position, along with maybe a surprise signing or two. It's also worth noting that of the four Irish signees, only DJ McKinney will be in his last year of eligibility. All remaining players have more than one year of college eligibility left.

This reflects a shift for Notre Dame. When the portal first became a "thing", the Irish were essentially locked into only taking graduate transfers who had one year left to play.

Now, it seems, the Irish are finding ways to offer more academic flexibility, allowing them to bring in players who are mid-career elsewhere. This will bode well for future roster building.

After the rough first week in the portal, it's great to see Notre Dame land some top athletes and zero in on adding more. Irish fans cannot wait until the 2026 season!