Regardless of how much credence you gave the Marcus Freeman to the NFL rumors, Notre Dame’s first priority this week was making sure its head coach stayed put in South Bend. Now, with that out of the way and Freeman back for 2026, and almost certainly beyond next season, he and the rest of his staff must construct next season’s roster.
While Freeman and the Fighting Irish rely primarily on high school recruiting and development, they’re not shy about diving into the transfer portal to solve problems. Now, coming off a painful College Football Playoff snub and with just one transfer portal window, starting on January 2 and running until the 16, you can expect Notre Dame to be as aggressive as ever.