2026 ND Portal Targets

[KPENN]

@NDFAN2008 you like what you see

2008 right now

 

[FU BK]

@NDFAN2008 you like what you see

Dont get him excited....hell have to go to the hospital if the erection lasts more than 4 hours

 

[Dale]

So if Ibirogba is still set to visit but Fong has him to Tech you can probably assume Tech jus tossed out an insane number you assume he takes but it’s not done

Added:

Iowa State WR Xavier Townsend
Michigan State DE Jalen Thompson
UCF DT Horace Lockett

 

[tirishman505]

Searching for value guys at some positions makes sense but I’d argue that at DT we are already full of value guys. If there’s a proven difference maker out there we need to go all in to get him. If there’s not, fine, don’t blow your money there. We just can’t Moneyball this.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

2008 right now

View attachment 3061985

I expect he's still building to that point. The explosion will happen after a few signings are announced.

 

[Dale]

Upcoming Transfer Visitor

Upcoming Transfer Visitor

247sports.com

Iowa State WR Xavier Townsend is visiting. This would be a Jayden Harrison like pull. Kick returner and reserve receiver

Berkeley Prep kid originally

 

[arrowryan]

Another guard prospect, if they’re actually looking.

 

[slick7410]

Upcoming Transfer Visitor

Upcoming Transfer Visitor

247sports.com

Iowa State WR Xavier Townsend is visiting. This would be a Jayden Harrison like pull. Kick returner and reserve receiver

Like the detail targets like this and the way ND has operated in the portal. Traits/role based for a mostly complete team. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that 15 rotation spots aren’t available.

You get a couple splashes and don’t over promise for expected role players. Minimize dissension over a long season.

Time to close well - good setup of visits to start.

 

[smw6230]

We’ll see how “all in” Pete and Freeman actually are

That's an easy attitude for fans with no responsibility to have.

It's tantamount to you making 150k a year looking for homes with your fiancée and having her say 'unless you buy that 6m dollar home we just looked at you're not all in on our marriage.'

Being "all in" also means being sensible about decisions.

ND has several areas of need and finite resources to meet those needs. Hell we don't even know where this guy is on their board.

 

[TorontoGold]

That's an easy attitude for fans with no responsibility to have.

It's tantamount to you making 150k a year looking for homes with your fiancée and having her say 'unless you buy that 6m dollar home we just looked at you're not all in on our marriage.'

Being "all in" also means being sensible about decisions.

ND has several areas of need and finite resources to meet those needs. Hell we don't even know where this guy is on their board.

ND is not making 150k a year. They have the funds to keep up with the joneses.

This is like going on a group vacation with other couples to an exclusive ski resort and one couple flies on a budget airline. You have the money, spend the money and join the rest of them.

 

[IRISHbluehen]

That's an easy attitude for fans with no responsibility to have.

It's tantamount to you making 150k a year looking for homes with your fiancée and having her say 'unless you buy that 6m dollar home we just looked at you're not all in on our marriage.'

Being "all in" also means being sensible about decisions.

ND has several areas of need and finite resources to meet those needs. Hell we don't even know where this guy is on their board.

The number and quality of portal visitors also assuages fears I had about them not being all in. You're not bringing these guys in to visit just to give them a low ball offer and beg them to come play for you.

 

[arrowryan]

That's an easy attitude for fans with no responsibility to have.

It's tantamount to you making 150k a year looking for homes with your fiancée and having her say 'unless you buy that 6m dollar home we just looked at you're not all in on our marriage.'

Being "all in" also means being sensible about decisions.

ND has several areas of need and finite resources to meet those needs. Hell we don't even know where this guy is on their board.

Besides a WR and a few DTs, I don’t think they have any true “needs”. In a season where they are settled with a homegrown QB, they should have some extra cash.

 

[The Backer]

how good are these DTs? They seem like “good P4 starters” but not necessarily “AA caliber season”.

 

[smw6230]

ND is not making 150k a year. They have the funds to keep up with the joneses.

This is like going on a group vacation with other couples to an exclusive ski resort and one couple flies on a budget airline. You have the money, spend the money and join the rest of them.

It's not that easy. Say TT and ND have the same transfer portal budget (7m). What if Tech is willing to pay 5.2 for a DT. Do you offer 5.3.to show that you're all in, and do without help elsewhere?

Freeman is also a culture guy who has repeatedly stayed that if it's all about the money then you're not choosing ND for the right reasons.

On basic principle. Freeman isn't going to overpay guys because that doesn't fit the culture he's worked hard to establish.

 

[stlnd01]

how good are these DTs? They seem like “good P4 starters” but not necessarily “AA caliber season”.

Are there any potential All-American DTs in the portal? If so we should be on them. But if not, "good P4 starters" are still an upgrade on most of what we've got in-house.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

how good are these DTs? They seem like “good P4 starters” but not necessarily “AA caliber season”.

It’s more about supply vs demand and the supply of ”good P4 starters” is low while the demand is very high. Same for OL. That means teams will have to knowingly overpay & the players/agents know this, too. High risk / High reward. But very unlikely that they’ll be AA caliber.

 

[NDMatt91]

how good are these DTs? They seem like “good P4 starters” but not necessarily “AA caliber season”.

Igbirogba was rated between the 3rd-5th round on multiple sites. I believe CBS had him 53rd of all draft eligible prospects. He's not perfect, but the consensus is he is the best DT available.

 

[benneboy]

Was never a fan of D but

It's not that easy. Say TT and ND have the same transfer portal budget (7m). What if Tech is willing to pay 5.2 for a DT. Do you offer 5.3.to show that you're all in, and do without help elsewhere?

Yeah but tech has a lot more holes to fill. One of them being at quarterback

 

[The Backer]

Are there any potential All-American DTs in the portal? If so we should be on them. But if not, "good P4 starters" are still an upgrade on most of what we've got in-house.

Right, those guys would be good additions to the roster but they seem pretty interchangeable. Not worth blowing the budget for any particular one of them.

 

[smw6230]

Was never a fan of D but

Yeah but tech has a lot more holes to fill. One of them being at quarterback

Yeah I agree, but what if they don't? An old military maxim comes mind. Never plan for what you think your enemy might do. Always plan for what your enemy is capable of doing.

 

[slick7410]

Igbirogba was rated between the 3rd-5th round on multiple sites. I believe CBS had him 53rd of all draft eligible prospects. He's not perfect, but the consensus is he is the best DT available.

True, but if the staff feels their biggest need is a guy not to get moved off his spot vs disrupt, his value to the team is not top dollar. We’ll never know the context.

 

[Dale]

I think portal rankings are pretty fucking useless so I just look at who the competition is:

Ibirogba: Texas Tech and Tennessee
Gilliam: IU and Tennessee
Lockett: OSU, South Carolina and Ole Miss

My suspicion would be Lockett is depth for ND and OSU whereas a starter for the other two.

 

[PolishDomer]

I think they should be taken with a grain of salt...overpaying doesn't make sense...I recall the OG Cain Madden who was a big bust as a transfer.

 

[IrishInOntario]

how good are these DTs? They seem like “good P4 starters” but not necessarily “AA caliber season”.

That's pretty much what you're looking at in the Portal, with the exception of a few stud entrants each year. Among the top teams looking to contend you're hoping to add 1-2 high level impact players ala Nick Marsh and Jontez Williams, supplemented by a handful of proven, quality starting / rotational caliber guys that can round out your depth chart in positions of need. ND's "home grown" roster is already strong in a lot of positions. However, it requires supplementation in some key areas, with specific impact talent.

QB: Requires supplemental talent
RB: Arguably requires supplemental talent
WR: Requires impact talent
TE: Arguably requires impact talent
OL: No need
DE: Requires supplemental talent
DT: Requires impact and supplemental talent
LB: No need
S: No need
CB: No need
NB: Requires impact talent
P: No need
K: Requires impact talent

You basically formulate a budget, look at your positions of need, figure out how much you're willing to spend at each position and hit the Portal to see what positions you can go about upgrading. As the dominoes fall and you get / lose out on the targeted upgrades on your board, you can move the budgeted money around as required to get as many of the guys as you want that you can, upgrading your overall depth chart.

The Portal is no different than professional free agency in the sense that very few teams will be successfull in building the core of their roster from it. There simply isn't enough talent that you'll be able to buy. Rather, the core of the roster must still be built from high school recruiting, then supplemented through the Portal in areas that you either missed on in recruiting, or find yourself lacking talent, depth, or both through any of a number of a series of circumstances.

 

[EvilleIrish]

Isiah Cannon in the portal. Hopefully there’s a shot.

 

[IrishInOntario]

I think portal rankings are pretty fucking useless so I just look at who the competition is:

Ibirogba: Texas Tech and Tennessee
Gilliam: IU and Tennessee
Lockett: OSU, South Carolina and Ole Miss

My suspicion would be Lockett is depth for ND and OSU whereas a starter for the other two.

Generally, agreed.

I also think ND likes variety in players for specific roles. ND runs a penetrating front that usually uses smaller, quicker bodies on the interior. With the loss of Rubio, however, ND has lost it's lone large run stuffer with any kind of experience. Sevillano and Dixon, would fit into that mold at NG and have combined to play very few snaps of value. The remainder of ND's interior players such as Hughes and Burgess project as penetrators.

I'd generally categorize players such as Igbirogba, Gilliam and VanSumeren (if ND's recruiting him) in the "penetrator" mold as well, so I have no problem with kicking tires on a guy like Lockett, who can 2-gap as required and play heavy reps on run downs.

 

[IrishInOntario]

Isiah Cannon in the portal. Hopefully there’s a shot.

In the same group for me as Ian Strong, as a guy you turn to for an impact boundary WR if you whiff on Nick Marsh. It would definitely be nice to build a board at that position in case you whiff. For me the order at boundary WR would be....

1. Nick Marsh
2. Isiah Canion
3. Ian Strong
4 Reed Harris

Consider me pretty happy if you don't go beyond #3 on that list.

 

[stlnd01]

That's pretty much what you're looking at in the Portal, with the exception of a few stud entrants each year. Among the top teams looking to contend you're hoping to add 1-2 high level impact players ala Nick Marsh and Jontez Williams, supplemented by a handful of proven, quality starting / rotational caliber guys that can round out your depth chart in positions of need. ND's "home grown" roster is already strong in a lot of positions. However, it requires supplementation in some key areas, with specific impact talent.

QB: Requires supplemental talent
RB: Arguably requires supplemental talent
WR: Requires impact talent
TE: Arguably requires impact talent
OL: No need
DE: Requires supplemental talent
DT: Requires impact and supplemental talent
LB: No need
S: No need
CB: No need
NB: Requires impact talent
P: No need
K: Requires impact talent

You basically formulate a budget, look at your positions of need, figure out how much you're willing to spend at each position and hit the Portal to see what positions you can go about upgrading. As the dominoes fall and you get / lose out on the targeted upgrades on your board, you can move the budgeted money around as required to get as many of the guys as you want that you can, upgrading your overall depth chart.

The Portal is no different than professional free agency in the sense that very few teams will be successfull in building the core of their roster from it. There simply isn't enough talent that you'll be able to buy. Rather, the core of the roster must still be built from high school recruiting, then supplemented through the Portal in areas that you either missed on in recruiting, or find yourself lacking talent, depth, or both through any of a number of a series of circumstances.

Exactly. We need multiple two-deep-caliber DTs, at least one WR, a kicker and probably a nickel. Anything else, you don't really invest in unless it's an upgrade on what you've got in-house, at a price you can afford AFTER taking care of those four positions. It might feel good to blow the bank on a big-name pass rusher, for instance, but we should prioritize inside DLs instead.
We've been really smart the last few years in how we've used the portal to round out the existing roster. I expect that will continue.

 

[EvilleIrish]

 

[DCDomer]

Touch grass.