2026 ND Portal Targets

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IrishInOntario

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BeauBenken said:
Wasn't it reported that we have been more than competitive money-wise on some of these targets. Somebody said Gilliam was offered more by ND than by Tennessee and others. Marsh was offered a substantial package reportedly.
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Things are fluid in the Portal. It's entirely possible that ND outbid Tennessee initially, however, when Gilliam visited ND and Tennessee thought they were going to lose him, they upped their offer and ND refused to match.

Just because you have the highest bid one moment, it doesn't mean it's going to stay that way. That's why ND is being so quiet about what they're doing. They're trying to avoid public bidding wars that will drive the price up. The problem is that it isn't working. Everyone has an agent now and they're back channeling all the time, otherwise they're failing their client. The market is really thin at some positions and the good players, with high upside, proven experience and multiple years of eligibility, are highly coveted.

Gilliam played in Knowles' scheme last year. This guy is as plug-n-play on their defense as you're possibly going to find. It makes sense that Tennessee would be willing to spend a good chunk of money here.
 
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RudyVerse

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MacIrish75 said:
I mean if I was Marcus, I'd be league bound after this fiasco. What a fustercluck.
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This is all I’d have to see to leave. Clearly whatever you think the market rate is, we’re well below that. We used to be the Jones’s, not we can’t keep up.
 
InKellyWeTrust

InKellyWeTrust

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If nothing else, we look like fools. The optics alone suck, even if the players aren't gamechangers.
 
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DomeFieldAdvantage

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The Backer said:
ISD keeps making the great point that Dawson was like the 80th ranked portal DT last year. There are guys a DT that can make an impact on the team that are still in the portal.

The issue is that the fanbase is conflating the top rated DTs as being a difference maker. Every DT in the portal would project as a rotation DT in 2025. There isn't an Aaron Donald or Jalen Carter in the portal to fuel the revenge tour. Just because Mateen Ibirogba was the top rated portal DT doesn't mean there aren't other DTs that can help the program in a similar way (or even better).
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The difference is Dawson was the main target. Its like recruiting. We care less about where a prospect is ranked on a national board than where they are on our coaches' board. The problem comes in when the guys we are targeting as top of the board start going elsewhere and then we start going down our board.

And that is where we are in the portal. We have been trying to get guys and we have been missing out. We are now going to have to move down our board. So its not about a guy being ranked lowly by On3 or 247, its about whatever guys we end up getting not even being our coaches' first, second, or third choice.
 
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WildMan1

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Sort of astounding at this point that we haven’t had the ability to lock up even one DL.

Gilliam was my “well at least we have him” lock & we can build off of that 😂

I couldn’t fathom the staff letting ANOTHER one go that’s currently on campus.

And with Brewu visiting Indiana, Miami, TN, Ohio St etc with how this portal is currently going I just don’t see us locking that one up either.

Can we just start recruiting billionaires during the season? If we just start raiding Elon during every Notre Dame game maybe he’ll ironically donate to the NIL lol

Seriously though.. I know it’s juvenile to expect rich people to make my favorite football team better but damn our donor base is getting embarrassed.
 
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IrishTusker

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Major ND donors need to get on the phone soon and take control, here, after what happened this season. This is not a time to be cheap.

Pete Sampson made it sound like they are not cheap when discussing MF's contract negotiations. Not that I trust the ND beat, though.
 
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IrishInOntario

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InKellyWeTrust said:
The cope from some people on this board... Idk, I feel like missing on our top 4 targets is sort of a big problem.
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What are you going to do? It's egg on the face of the program and they have to wear it, not us.

Teams like Georgia and Ohio State don't make a living in the Portal. They take the same approach ND is trying to. The difference is that when they have a player they really want, they put the money together and get it done. They understand that they're going to overpay and they just do. Not for 10+ players, but for the few players they need, they need, they absolutely do.

Notre Dame very much feels like they're operating with a tightly fixed budget and fairly fixed "slots". It feels like they're being extremely rigid about paying what they've slotted for each position and are increasingly willing to settle for lesser players if it means sticking to their budget.

Like it or not, that level of prudent fiscal restraint feels very much like a Notre Dame thing to do.
 
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IrishTusker

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IrishInOntario said:
What are you going to do? It's egg on the face of the program and they have to wear it, not us.

Teams like Georgia and Ohio State don't make a living in the Portal. They take the same approach ND is trying to. The difference is that when they have a player they really want, they put the money together and get it done. They understand that they're going to overpay and they just do. Not for 10+ players, but for the few players they need, they need, they absolutely do.

Notre Dame very much feels like they're operating with a tightly fixed budget and fairly fixed "slots". It feels like they're being extremely rigid about paying what they've slotted for each position and are increasingly willing to settle for lesser players if it means sticking to their budget.

Like it or not, that level of prudent fiscal restraint feels very much like a Notre Dame thing to do.
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Delusional, arrogant, oblivious? That's definitely very ND.
 
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IrishInOntario

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IrishTusker said:
Major ND donors need to get on the phone soon and take control, here, after what happened this season. This is not a time to be cheap.

Pete Sampson made it sound like they are not cheap when discussing MF's contract negotiations. Not that I trust the ND beat, though.
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I doubt they will. ND has the type of donors that break the bank to put their name on a building that will stand for 75+ years, as a reflection of their legacy. They don't strike me as a group that that will spend wildly for addition of a single player that will be a footnote in Notre Dame lore... Like it, or not, it's not the Notre Dame way.
 
NDMatt91

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IF the plan is to go bargain basement shopping at DT, then they need to bring in like 4 or 5 of them, right? They'd have to pray that 2 of them are decent.
 
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RudyVerse

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Do people around ND really realize how much of a unicorn Marcus Freeman is? I don't think they do. There is not another out there and he has more positivity and alleged buy in than Hotlz even did. And we have the QB for the first time in over a decade...
 
FU BK

FU BK

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Ill go start drumming up interest here at St Francis in Fort Wayne...wish me luck
 
NDMatt91

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RudyVerse said:
Do people around ND really realize how much of a unicorn Marcus Freeman is? I don't think they do. There is not another out there and he has more positivity and alleged buy in than Hotlz even did.
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Just to play devil's advocate, what would stop Freeman from saying the following? "Look, our current depth chart at Defensive Tackle is garbage. We need quality players even if it's an overpay or we're going to be in rough shape. Just make it happen."
 
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