Notre Dame Suffers Major Blow as WR Is Out for the Season

Notre Dame was expecting a big year from Quincy Porter at wide receiver, but the transfer portal signee's season is officially done

Wide receiver Quincy Porter walks to a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in South Bend. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Notre Dame was hoping to get major additions at wide receiver via the transfer portal for 2026, but one key part of that plan is officially done for the season, before his year ever got off the ground.

Quincy Porter, a transfer from Ohio State that was rated as a five-star recruit by 247Sports in 2025, is officially done for the year, Marcus Freeman announced on Monday.

Porter suffered a patella injury that he's had multiple procedures on since the end of last football season, and was hoping to get back soon.

Instead, his first season in a Notre Dame uniform never got off the ground as he hasn't been available for a game yet.

What Quincy Porter's Injury Means for Notre Dame

Porter has sky-high potential but 2026 will now officially be spent working back from injury, instead of really growing as a player. That's not to say he be able to contribute to Notre Dame one day, but the anticipated depth at the wide receiver position takes a hit.

That's not good, as the hope was for Porter to be a difference-making type that Notre Dame has struggled to find at wide receiver.

Game week

at North Carolina
📍 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
📆 Saturday, Oct. 3
⏰ 12 PM ET
📺 ESPN#GoIrish☘️ | @tirerack pic.twitter.com/qIIlLo9LDj

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 28, 2026

For 2026 it means what you've seen is what you get at wide receiver for the Fighting Irish. I think Porter's hype was a little bit more than he was ever going to provide this fall, but still, the hope of there being even the slightest boost, let alone a big one in the receiving corps is gone.

Ohio State Beats Notre Dame Again - It Feels Like, Anyway

Notre Dame has seemingly caught every program in college football over the past few years.

It has won 14 straight games, all by double digits.

It beat Georgia, the SEC standard, in the Sugar Bowl to advance in the College Football Playoff two seasons ago.

It has won nine of its last 10 games against Big Ten opponents, but that one remains a big one.

Ohio State beats Notre Dame again. https://t.co/oQBS0B8asx

— Brad Powers (@BradPowers7) September 28, 2026

It of course came against Ohio State in the National Championship game that closed the 2024 season

Add in losses to the Buckeyes in the 2022 and 2023 regular season.

Now factor in a pair of Fiesta Bowl losses to Ohio State since 2006, and two more regular season losses to it in the 1995 and 1996 seasons, and it's safe to say Notre Dame hasn't caught the scarlet and grey yet.

And although Porter's career is by no means over, his 2026 season being washed out due to injury feels like another body blow to Notre Dame provided by Ohio State.