2026 ND Portal Targets

The Backer

The Backer

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I'm looking at supply and demand here -- I don't think there's a lot of plug and play difference makers in this portal class. Of the guys ND is in the conversation for, only John Henry Daley really has a blue-chip track record and that's if he's healthy. Marsh, Williams, Strong, and Foley are at best red chip guys (i.e. quality p4 starters) and might even up more as role/rotation players (yellow chip). Most of the DTs are pretty strictly rotation guys that could trend into red chip territory if Partridge pulls something off.

I do like Graham and think he has blue chip potential but he hasn't played much.

The blue and red chip guys for ND area already on the roster.
 
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WildMan1

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MrNimbus said:
This all feels like any of the professional sports free agency period. And I absolutely hate it. Recruiting was bad enough. The transfer portal is disgusting though.
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Yea I feel the same way.. But I’ll be honest, it’s accentuated because we’re clearly not capable of harvesting it to the same degree as some others.

But with that said.. if we can continue to recruit & retain at a high level & sprinkle with the portal we’ll be fine
 
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IrishInOntario

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MrNimbus said:
This all feels like any of the professional sports free agency period. And I absolutely hate it. Recruiting was bad enough. The transfer portal is disgusting though.
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That's exactly what it is. Just like free agency it's a period in which teams looking to compete overpay for guys in attempt to get over the top and teams with holes overpay for players to get / remain competitive.

It's free agency by a different name.
 
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IrishInOntario

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The Backer said:
I'm looking at supply and demand here -- I don't think there's a lot of plug and play difference makers in this portal class. Of the guys ND is in the conversation for, only John Henry Daley really has a blue-chip track record and that's if he's healthy. Marsh, Williams, Strong, and Foley are at best red chip guys (i.e. quality p4 starters) and might even up more as role/rotation players (yellow chip). Most of the DTs are pretty strictly rotation guys that could trend into red chip territory if Partridge pulls something off.

I do like Graham and think he has blue chip potential but he hasn't played much.

The blue and red chip guys for ND area already on the roster.
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Just like any free agency period in any pro sport, there are a handful of studs, a handful of truly underrated players... And a whole bunch of average guys that teams will compete for with the goal of winning on the margins by paying the least for the best "average" player(s).
 
IrishLax

IrishLax

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MrNimbus said:
This all feels like any of the professional sports free agency period. And I absolutely hate it. Recruiting was bad enough. The transfer portal is disgusting though.
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Reminds me of MLB "hot stove" period
 
FU BK

FU BK

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Wake me up when this shit ends. This transfer portal shit has gotten way out of hand. Hard to believe we live in a world where a college qb with a career record of 13-17 signs a 5 mil deal with Texas Tech. It's literally like playing Russian Roulette of who your going to piss off and lose by bringing someone in
 
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BrooklynDomer

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Rocketman84 said:
Or make like Indiana and shore up ALL your positions
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Indiana’s base roster is nothing like Notre Dame’s. They have to shore up every position with the portal cause their regular roster is mediocre. It’s not comparable at all. ND has to spend money to retain their main roster AND add new players via the portal. As such, they have less to spend.
 
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LifelongFan

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Rocketman84 said:
Or make like Indiana and shore up ALL your positions
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It takes two to tango. IU is losing everyone while we retain just about everyone. I would guess IU turning a bunch of portal guys into early draft picks is appealing as well.
 
JerseyIrishMan

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Dale said:
Whose roster would you rather have today, right now?
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The one still playing, respectfully.

Yes their rosters are different. ND does not need to hit the portal as hard as IU and has to spend more to retain their guys, this is all true.

For as much as this board loves talking culture, not retaining guys like Coogan and Burnham is a bigger deal than many want to admit. Those are guys who provide quality depth and bring really valuable experience for a program like IU.

Their recruiting philosophy is a lot less about stars and rankings and a lot more about traits and tendencies. There is a competition at every position group every year for IU and that's how Cig runs his program. It's not the only way to run a program, but it's working pretty well.
 
FWIrish4

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BrooklynDomer said:
Indiana’s base roster is nothing like Notre Dame’s. They have to shore up every position with the portal cause their regular roster is mediocre. It’s not comparable at all. ND has to spend money to retain their main roster AND add new players via the portal. As such, they have less to spend.
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Exactly. IU doesn’t have to spend money retaining studs because they don’t have any to begin with (specifically after this year - those two year JMU guys were a gift).
 
JerseyIrishMan

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Discrediting IU because they have players from JMU is really silly considering Cig is the one who found those unheralded prospects and turned them into All Americans. It's almost like rankings don't matter. Quality depth and culture of competition do.
 
Dale

Dale

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JerseyIrishMan said:
The one still playing, respectfully.

Yes their rosters are different. ND does not need to hit the portal as hard as IU and has to spend more to retain their guys, this is all true.

For as much as this board loves talking culture, not retaining guys like Coogan and Burnham is a bigger deal than many want to admit. Those are guys who provide quality depth and bring really valuable experience for a program like IU.

Their recruiting philosophy is a lot less about stars and rankings and a lot more about traits and tendencies. There is a competition at every position group every year for IU and that's how Cig runs his program. It's not the only way to run a program, but it's working pretty well.
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Yeah I mean this is clearly about 2026 so I didn’t read past the first sentence.
 
FWIrish4

FWIrish4

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JerseyIrishMan said:
Discrediting IU because they have players from JMU is really silly considering Cig is the one who found those unheralded prospects and turned them into All Americans. It's almost like rankings don't matter. Quality depth and culture of competition do.
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If you’re referencing my post, that is not at all what I said.

They do not have quality depth by the way, which is why they HAVE to hit the portal to even have an above average starting lineup next year.
 
Dale

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JerseyIrishMan said:
Discrediting IU because they have players from JMU is really silly considering Cig is the one who found those unheralded prospects and turned them into All Americans. It's almost like rankings don't matter. Quality depth and culture of competition do.
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You’ve posted about IU many times today and shown a completely lack of ability to discern what the conversation is even remotely about.
 
JerseyIrishMan

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FWIrish4 said:
If you’re referencing my post, that is not at all what I said.

They do not have quality depth by the way, which is why they HAVE to hit the portal to even have an above average starting lineup next year.
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Not specifically referring to your post, it's a common sentiment on this board.

They've had a few injuries and done pretty well this year. The knock on their roster is very overrated. And likely irrelevant as of next year.
 
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IrishTusker

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rtrn2glory said:
Yep we fumbled the visit schedule very very bad.

I'm sure a huge bag was offered again that we weren't willing to match. We can't miss on DTs or the portal season was a legit waste of time
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If we're not willing to match, what are we doing here? Are we trying to win, or not? Money shouldn't be an obstacle for ND. Ever.
 
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