Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 OCT. 3, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED A bout the only turbulent question that hit Notre Dame during its 2026 off- season was why it took so long for the Irish staff to join the transfer portal party in early January. The story dates back to when the winter portal window opened like a job fair from Jan. 2-15 — 15 days for players to enter their names into it, making them avail- able to programs to court, offer and add them to their 2026 rosters. And while the first week of this year's portal-palooza brought much activity and many notable signings from other top programs — including at least five reported Irish targets who committed else- where — Notre Dame's inactiv- ity that week created much angst among its media and fan base. "Not having any visitors lined up for the first weekend after the portal opened was a big miss for this staff," one analyst opined. "You would have expected Notre Dame to be ready since there was no bowl prep." "How can Notre Dame skip a bowl game, have all of this extra time to eval- uate transfers, and then sit on its hands and do nothing?" another armchair quarterback added. Meanwhile, for Irish head coach Mar- cus Freeman and Notre Dame football general manager Mike Martin, there was always a plan and no panic. While many other programs around the country performed their annual offseason ritual of bringing in dozens of portal players, then throwing their names against the wall and seeing what sticks, Notre Dame stayed patient and selective through the process, which Freeman admitted wasn't always easy. "I'm an aggressive person," Freeman said. "I want to go 1,000 miles an hour. [GM] Mike Martin continued to reiterate to me, 'Marcus, let's run our race.'" Martin brought an NFL background in free agency to his first transfer cycle with the Irish, experience that proved vital during the portal process. "We've narrowed our focus on some targets," Martin said when asked about his deliberate approach to portal shop- ping. "And when we're able to reach out to them, we will at the appropriate time." But even after a seemingly sluggish start to 2026 portal pursuits, Notre Dame eventually brought in seven trans- fers, a smallish portal haul compared to most other programs, but a class that On3 still ranked No. 8 in the country because of quality over quantity. "We weren't looking for a whole bunch of guys," Freeman said. "We had to be very strategic, very intentional about our process and who we were targeting." And it's already become a transfer class, especially on defense, that's been an integral part of the solid start to this season and to rising national champi- onship hopes for the Irish. Three portal players particularly stood out during the first three games for Notre Dame. Junior defensive tackles Francis Brewu, a transfer from Pittsburgh, and Tionne Gray, a transfer from Oregon, make up half of what has arguably become the best four-man rotation of interior defen- sive linemen in the country. Through three games, this duo combined for 15 tackles, 2 sacks and immeasurable defensive dis- ruption from their often thank- less position. "I think we're a great one-two punch," Brewu said. "We com- plement each other." And on the back end of the Irish defense, Colorado corner- back transfer DJ McKinney has been opportunistic in his start- ing role within the best defensive secondary in the nation. In limited snaps through three games, McKinney still recorded 2 passes broken up and a 55- yard interception returned for a touchdown against Wisconsin Sept. 6 that gave the Irish a com- fortable 27-10 lead. During the five portal cycles since Freeman became head coach in 2022, Notre Dame has brought in 34 transfers total, or about seven per year. And many of those, including quar- terbacks Sam Hartman (2023) and Riley Leonard (2024); wide receivers Malachi Fields (2025) and Beaux Collins (2024); placekickers Blake Grupe (2022) and Spencer Schrader (2023), and others, became valuable Irish starters and then moved on to NFL pursuits. There are plenty of portal play- ers making big plays for big programs around the country. But what makes Notre Dame unique is that it signed the No. 2 high school recruiting class in the Rivals Industry Ranking and the No. 8 portal class in 2026 according to On3, a roster-building blend that no team in the country can match. "We're going to major in high school recruiting. We're going to major in de- velopment," Freeman memorably said in January when he introduced his class of incoming transfers. "And we're going to supplement out of the portal." All done with patience instead of panic. ✦ Junior transfer defensive tackles Francis Brewu from Pittsburgh and Tionne Gray (above) from Oregon combined for 15 tackles and 2 sacks in Notre Dame's first three games. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at toddburlage@gmail.com UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Portal Patience Pays Off For Notre Dame