Why Is Notre Dame Falling Behind in the Transfer Portal?

After Notre Dame was snubbed from the College Football Playoff in early December, once the initial pain wore off, fans and media alike expected the Fighting Irish staff to go scorched earth in the portal heading into the 2026 season.

There wasn't necessarily a reason to think this way, other than the general tone and sentiment from Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua, who took his opportunity to let everyone involved in snubbing the Irish from the CFP know that he was none too pleased about the decision or the process.

What’s Holding Notre Dame Back in the Portal Cycle?

The first opportunity for Notre Dame to do real damage post-snub would have been to immediately go after any and every big target in the portal once it opened on January 2, but it has remarkably done just the opposite.

Despite having a perceived "advantage" of being able to get its ducks in a row for visits during the time when it should have been in the College Football Playoff, Notre Dame has somehow managed to mess that up too.

Top of the board targets such as wide receiver Nick Marsh and defensive tackle Mateen Ibirogba are committing to their new schools, Indiana and Texas Tech respectively, before they even make it to Notre Dame's campus.

There is some credit due there to the Hoosier and Red Raiders' staff for getting those deals over the line and not allowing those guys to visit South Bend, but how in the world is Notre Dame not able to land these visitors? Something has gone wrong in the process, clearly.

Mateen Ibirogba is officially a Red Raider.#WreckEm | @MateenIbi17 pic.twitter.com/q2J7bcNXR2
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) January 7, 2026

It seems to me that the question marks surrounding Notre Dame's portal strategy come down to two possible causes.

One is that Texas Tech and Indiana are throwing ridiculous amounts of money at these players, while Notre Dame prefers to recruit high school talent and use their money to keep those guys around.

I'm fine with that, but when you have an opportunity like 2026 where you have your NFL-caliber QB coming back, your star head coach is back, AND you are returning most of your starters from the year before, you HAVE to go all in. Notre Dame is showing a clear reluctance to do that.

Is Marcus Freeman cranking up the transfer portal pitch?

The second cause might be that Freeman just isn't locked in.

Ever since Notre Dame's CFP snub, the rumors around Freeman leaving for the NFL grew stronger and stronger until he signed an extension with the Fighting Irish. Those rumors don't come from nowhere, and it seems clear that Freeman, at some point, will try his hand at the NFL - maybe even as early as next year.

If that's the case, he needs to lock it in and focus on 2026 - now.

(If, in fact, the Irish want to dive in ...)

Does Notre Dame have any pressing needs?

Time is growing short in the transfer portal period, and while there are still plenty of good prospects out there ...

How many playmakers are better than what the Irish already have?

After hitting the portal for Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard, did they go after a quarterback? No. Would they trade CJ Carr for any returning quarterback in 2026? Probably not.

Freeman and his staff have crushed the recruiting trail. There's always room for more talent and more options, but the Irish have a strong roster coming into 2026. So, maybe, don't look too deeply into the lack of portal activity.