2026 Transfer Portal - General

[irish4ever]

Ask

Asking genuinely, but are / were their any names that you had in mind? Even the largest "most open" checkbooks in the country typically only bring in a handful of quality players each year, with 1 true gem.

If, for argument sake, ND brought in the following, would you be disappointed?

- A Nick Marsh caliber, starting boundary receiver.

- 2 defensive tackles that can start and/ or play heavy rotational minutes. A guy like Mateen Igborogba and a second player of similar / greater talent.

- An experienced backup QB willing to sit behind CJ Carr.

- A 1A caliber running back to share the backfield with Williams.

- An experienced nickel to shares reps with Dalas Golden

- An experienced kicker, with proven 80%+ accuracy.

Would that 7-8 man portal class not be exciting for you?

I go along with all you have listed but I still question WHY the Irish would need a running back in the portal. Along with Williams, they have Young, James, Osborne and Walton set to be part of the room in 2026. That should be plenty of horses to turn to, along with a more prolific passing offensive attack. Use that portal NIL money elsewhere IMO.

 

[Dale]

TIFWIW 247 Portal Rankings:

WR2 BC Reed Harris
WR4 MSU Nick Marsh
WR5 NCSU Terrell Anderson

 

[mango4]

He’s not a big body boundary WR but I think Griffin Wilde at Northwestern is a legit player

I wonder if he enters the portal now. He was recruited by Zach Lujan to South Dakota State and eventually followed Lujan to Northwestern.

 

[IrishInOntario]

I go along with all you have listed but I still question WHY the Irish would need a running back in the portal. Along with Williams, they have Young, James, Osborne and Walton set to be part of the room in 2026. That should be plenty of horses to turn to, along with a more prolific passing offensive attack. Use that portal NIL money elsewhere IMO.

I think ND is heading into 2026 with genuine internal National Championship type expectations. When you're a program that prides itself in it's run game, you want to eliminate as many question marks as possible in order to bolster your roster in hopes of winning it all. Aneyas Williams is a semi-proven running back. Not a single other player in the 5-deep has ever produced on a college field. They are all purely projection at this point in their college careers.

I don't think ND is going to break the bank for a 1A RB. Rather, they've alloted a quantity of funds for the position and if they can find a quality, experienced guy in the portal for that price, who fits the roster needs, their desire to have him split carries with Williams and is a good lockeroom fit, they'll take him. If not, they'll roll with their current depth chart. .

The Portal is a roster boosting tool. You never rest with who you have, if you have a chance to improve via Portal acquisition. Especially at positions you value highly within your program.

 

[notredomer23]

Allen Trieu doesn’t think LSU is a big factor for Marsh and that ND was mentioned prominently for him along with a couple other schools.

 

[KPENN]

Allen Trieu doesn’t think LSU is a big factor for Marsh and that ND was mentioned prominently for him along with a couple other schools.

Singer mentioned Marsh a couple weeks back too

 

[Irish5Saint]

Allen Trieu doesn’t think LSU is a big factor for Marsh and that ND was mentioned prominently for him along with a couple other schools.

LSU on3 board has some non-staff insiders who have been on the mark more often than not, and it sounds like they think it’s either LSU or ND.

 

[Irish8248]

G5 and FCS are probably done for.

I think that's a dramatic take -- not aimed at you, just saying in general

The transfer portal plus NIL is without a doubt retaining talent longer and elevating talent sooner. So in the grand scheme yes talent will rise and lower programs will find it hard to be competitive. That being said, it's no different than supply and demand. G5 will take from other G5 quality and promote from FCS. FCS will steal within and promote from D2. D2 to D3. D3 is over saturated and honestly less concerning anyways. As a former D3 player, I don't think you will notice a ripple. The cream will still be at the top (Mount union, St. Johns, Bethel, etc) and the other 400 schools will fluctuate like usual.

That's the magic of Div 3, everyone is a Cinderella when you get to the tournament. St. John Fisher had a run, made it to the elite 8 and final 4 but then kind of falls off as the years go on.

 

[allenm5333]

Hit N Hustle has me cautiously optimistic we land Marsh

 

[irish2104]

Right??

 

[BeatSC]

We keep talking about who we want but what about who might leave? Freeman might be the most successful coach at hanging onto who he really wants/needs to stay.

 

[NDhoosier]

Marsh or Harris? What is the preference?

 

[NDWarrior]

Bam! 6' 3", 215 lbs out of Norcross GA

 

[GrangerIrish24]

Marsh or Harris? What is the preference?

why not both

 

[CanadalovesND]

Bam! 6' 3", 215 lbs out of Norcross GA

I'd put Auburn as the front runner... for obvious reasons. Especially if Byrum Brown heads there, too.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I think that's a dramatic take -- not aimed at you, just saying in general

The transfer portal plus NIL is without a doubt retaining talent longer and elevating talent sooner. So in the grand scheme yes talent will rise and lower programs will find it hard to be competitive. That being said, it's no different than supply and demand. G5 will take from other G5 quality and promote from FCS. FCS will steal within and promote from D2. D2 to D3. D3 is over saturated and honestly less concerning anyways. As a former D3 player, I don't think you will notice a ripple. The cream will still be at the top (Mount union, St. Johns, Bethel, etc) and the other 400 schools will fluctuate like usual.

That's the magic of Div 3, everyone is a Cinderella when you get to the tournament. St. John Fisher had a run, made it to the elite 8 and final 4 but then kind of falls off as the years go on.

You're probably right that it's dramatic, but we're currently in a society where all the money is flowing up. Athletics doesn't seem to be any different. I think those guys are going to somehow have to figure out how to stay ahead of the curve and come up with new ideas on how to attract talent. The issue then becomes how do they retain that talent and how do they retain the people who come up with those ideas? Life is already tough enough.

 

[NDWarrior]

If ND is looking for an Edge player to add from the portal.

Had a breakout year with Utah this year: 48 combined tackles, 17.5 TFL and 11.5 sacks -- Wow!

Maybe MI the favorite to land him tho'?

 

[rtrn2glory]

How do the WRs in the portal compare to Fields?

 

[ndinoxford]

Deuce Knight in the portal

 

[allenm5333]

How do the WRs in the portal compare to Fields?

Coleman is better. I would say Marsh is same tier.

 

[2013Irish]

Deuce Knight in the portal

Shocking.

 

[NDWarrior]

Coleman is better. I would say Marsh is same tier.

How about KJ Duff compared to these two and Fields? I know he's not in the portal but sure seems like he and their (Rutgers) top RB are considering it.

 

[DCK_1981]

Deuce Knight in the portal

The backup QB prospect???

 

[RudyVerse]

I get it, but we have a huge talent gap after CJ.

WOULD.

 

[ColinKSU]

Deuce Knight in the portal

He was going to be in the portal if he came to ND too.

 

[NDWarrior]

Not quite the talent of current Boundary Receiver targets but seems to have found his groove at FIU this season. Maybe worth a look if others don't pan out.

Definitely has the size at 6'5" and 210 lbs

 

[PolishDomer]

I get it, but we have a huge talent gap after CJ.

WOULD.

 

[NDMatt91]

From today's II Podcast:

-As it stands today, Eric Thomas believes LSU is in the driver's seat for Marsh. "I know have been several reports of confidence coming out of Baton Rouge."
-O'Malley thinks there's a team in the playoff (didn't say who) that has a RB that ND might look at.
-Chaz Coleman isn't a realistic target
-Thomas was told that ND was doing their due diligence on an Auburn WR. He wasn't given the name, but he was told it's NOT Cam Coleman.
-They've been told that the number of Defensive Tackles they'd like to take is 2. Based on what Sampson said, it sounds like ND is trying to get 2 starters.
-Gray, Shuler, and Tae Johnson are all coming back..."not announced, but official" according to O'Malley. O'Malley said he hasn't heard a single rumbling that Golden and Zackery will leave.

 

[Dale]

Thomas was told that ND was doing their due diligence on an Auburn WR. He wasn't given the name, but he was told it's NOT Cam Coleman

Singleton from Ga Tech hasn’t declared for the draft yet. Not really a boundary fit but would be a luxury.

Perry Thompson was the big name recruit besides Coleman but I doubt.

Someone like Horatio Fields who was a Wake transfer would be the easy answer but that would be depth.

 

[Dale]

-O'Malley thinks there's a team in the playoff (didn't say who) that has a RB that ND might look at.

Assuming it’s someone with a legit role: