Florida State’s football program showed the college football world what can happen when you rely on the transfer portal to build a roster the last two seasons. Clemson has shown what happens when you ignore its existence. On the other hand, Notre Dame has demonstrated how the portal can be utilized to plug gaps and supplement a strong recruiting base. The Irish will have to once again be aggressive in the portal this year.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has already said the Irish have no plans to pursue a portal quarterback again this year. Still, once the portal opens on Monday, the Irish would be wise to add several positions to their roster.
Defensive Tackle
Notre Dame loses both Rylie Mills and Howard Cross on the interior of the defensive line this year, leaving some huge shoes to fill next year. Waiting in the wings are upperclassmen Donovan Hinsh and Gabriel Rubio and underclassmen Brenan Vernon, Cole Mullins, Sean Sevillano, Armel Mukam, and Devan Houston. Notre Dame also signed Davion Dixon and Gordy Sulfsted earlier this week, with Dixon as an early enrollee. Jason Onye could theoretically be back in 2025 as well, but his extended absence since earlier this season for personal reasons raises some doubts about whether he might ever return to the lineup.
Some of those names brought in a strong recruiting pedigree, but most have not impacted the field yet. Vernon, for instance, had some early 5-star buzz, but he’s played eight total snaps this year. Houston has logged just 10. Sevillano, perhaps one of the least heralded of the group, has more than Houston and Vernon combined, with 39. Mukam has the most snaps of the group, with 60.
The group has some talent, but most of it needs more time to develop. Rubio looks the most ready for a starting role next year, but he’s also had some injury challenges over the year. If Notre Dame does not hit the portal for help on the interior defensive line, the drop-off from Cross/Mills will be substantial next year. Most of Notre Dame’s NIL resources for this year should be devoted to this area.
Wide Receiver
Another year down, another year Notre Dame needs to hit the portal for wide receiver help. The need isn’t as dire as last year when the Irish snagged Jayden Harrison, Beaux Collins, and Kris Mitchell, but there is still a need this year with all three leaving and the Irish missing on most of their top targets at receiver in the class of 2025.
Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse return for Notre Dame, and Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie are eligible to return, though the latter two have not played much this year. KK Smith has flashed in practice but hasn’t had many opportunities before getting banged up earlier this year. The freshman trio of Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, and Logan Saldate showed some promise in spring ball and camp, but none of them cracked the rotation this year.
Notre Dame had some mixed success with this year’s transfer wide receivers. Collins flashed early but had major issues with drops over the second half of the season. Harrison showed the ability to be a deep threat, but the Irish offense just hasn’t been the most vertical in year one of Mike Denbrock and with Riley Leonard at the helm. Mitchell hasn’t been a huge factor, with just 19 catches for 180 yards on the season.
However, this year’s success, or lack thereof, with portal receivers shouldn’t prevent Notre Dame from being aggressive here if the opportunity presents itself. One name to watch for Notre Dame is former recruiting target Nic Anderson, who entered the portal on Friday. Notre Dame lost a hard-fought recruiting battle to Oklahoma for him while Brian Kelly was still head coach. Another name to monitor is Louisville wide receiver KC Concepcion. He’s more of a speed threat than Anderson, but he is also more of a slot receiver, and Notre Dame has had a log jam at the slot. With CJ Carr likely taking over the reins of the offense next year and the Irish perhaps opening things up a bit more, though, that might not be a concern.
Kicker
Notre Dame had been hugely successful with transfer kickers before this season. Blake Grupe and Spencer Shreader were not only successful kickers for the Irish, but both have also been kicking field goals this year in the NFL. That streak broke this year mainly due to injury. Mitch Jeter looked like he would be the next in line, but a hamstring injury midway through the season derailed Jeter’s season. After returning to action, Jeter hasn’t been able to find his accuracy, leaving the Irish kicking game one of the few question marks about this team heading into the playoffs.
Notre Dame flipped kicker Erik Schmidt last week, but will Freeman and Marty Biagi be comfortable with a true freshman handling kicking duties next year? In the past, you wouldn’t have wanted to use three scholarships on kickers, but with expanded rosters in 2025, it’s not as much of an issue. If there is a top-line kicker that Notre Dame can sign for 2025 while Schmidt adjusts to college ball for a year, the Irish should pounce.
EDGE
You can never have enough edge rushers – look at this season when Notre Dame lost both Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore to injury. Botelho plans to return for a 6th year in 2025 since his 2020 playing time did not count towards eligibility, and his injury this year happened early enough that he could retain the year of eligibility. Traore is also back for his junior year, so the need isn’t dire here. However, again, you can never have enough EDGE rushers. If someone out there can make an impact that the Irish can land, they should be aggressive. They don’t need depth players here, so there’s no need to add if they aren’t adding an impact player.
Defensive Back
Notre Dame has one of the best incoming secondary classes in the country, so this is another position where there is no dire need to add. Still, the Irish have successfully added nickels to the defense through the portal for the last two years, with Thomas Harper last year and Jordan Clark this year. Notre Dame would be wise to take action if a similar situation presents itself. The secondary will be much younger next year, with Xavier Watts off to the NFL and Benjamin Morrison almost assuredly headed there as well.
Karson Hobbs was impressive earlier this year after Morrison’s injury before Moore seized control of all those available snaps. The need is low if the staff thinks he can handle the nickel. Notre Dame could roll the dice with a freshman in the slot, but the position is more nuanced than an outside corner position and tends to be better suited for a more veteran player.
I went to a NotreDame home game this year. I was standing near Angeli’s parents. Very nice people. Before the player walk through someone came up and started talking to his parents about Steve playing and starting in 2025. His mom said Steve loves NotreDame but he wants a shot to start. When asked if Steve isn’t name the starter would he transfer she said we are just going to wait and see how it plays out. Freeman hints of an open spring competition between Carr, Angeli and Minchey. My feeling is that Freeman is leaning and favoring Carr over Minchey and Angeli. I could be wrong but I think Freeman sees Carr as a quarterback that can win a National championship.
The article mentions CJ Carr likely taking over the reins of the offense next year. Why? Did Steve Angeli exhaust his eligibility? I don’t understand how ND would expect him to stick around for another season of mop up duty if that’s the case.