2026 ND Portal Targets

SoIll

SoIll

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arrowryan said:
And to think I believed Notre Dame was gonna go OSU 2024 on the portal this offseason lmfao. They are a bunch of giant cheap asses. Fuck everyone involved.
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Yep. We've been lied too. Pete went on every talk show, network and acted all tough. Brady Quinn (who I love) tweeted numerous times about they'll be "all in" now after the playoff debacle. Multiple reports that ND was so pissed that money would be flying around.

Hard to believe that was all going to come to fruition, but I at least thought things were going to be a little better. Also, We can blame Martin all we want. I am sure the majority of this is on him, but MF makes a fuck ton of money to not have this type of thing happen. During his new contract negotiations, he was rumored to be asking for this, asking for that. Wtf was he asking for? He sure as hell isn't getting it.

One of you mentioned he was at his boys wrestling meet. I'm cool with that, but he was also on vacation and MIA for the past 3-4 weeks before that while other staffs were grinding their ass off. He hired Martin. He's the boss. Starts/stops with him.
 
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sfk324

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arrowryan said:
It’s usually “challenge everything”, “TGS”, and Pete B said something along the lines of “Marcus will remember this” after the CFP fiasco.

Now it all seems like a bunch of smoke being blown up our ass.
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He's also said if you're only looking at ND for the short term money, you're probably not going to fit. But go ahead and cling to the bumper sticker phrases without acknowledging what he has said those things stand for.
 
NDPhilly

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Crazy enough, regardless of if we get a DT we are still going to be favored in 11 games at worst in 2026. The question is really are we going to good enough to win a title.
 
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arrowryan

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sfk324 said:
He's also said if you're only looking at ND for the short term money, you're probably not going to fit. But go ahead and cling to the bumper sticker phrases without acknowledging what he has said those things stand for.
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That’s a cool motto to say, but I’m not sure how realistic it is. As it stands today, they have an inoperable defensive front to play with next season. And that’s BEFORE injuries happen.
 
Dale

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My issue with laying everything at the feet of Martin is similar to laying everything at the feet of Ash. Freeman hired them, Freeman oversees the program. Head coaches are supposed to be psychopathic control freaks that have their hand in everything. If Freeman just hired Ash and then never checked in on the defense before the Miami game….what was he doing? If Freeman hired Martin and never checked in on the plans for the portal….what was he doing?

These are just as valid questions to ask, especially considering the knock of BK compared to the supposed strength of Freeman. He can’t only be a rah rah locker room guy.
 
RipWheeler

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Ed DeBartolo Jr is an ND alum and a billionaire. He also knows a thing or two about winning championships. Why isn’t ND utilizing him like Oregon does with Phil Knight?
 
NDMatt91

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NDPhilly said:
Crazy enough, regardless of if we get a DT we are still going to be favored in 11 games at worst in 2026. The question is really are we going to good enough to win a title.
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As things stand right now, I'd say no. I think the offense won't be as good - RB and WR won't be as good, and I have questions about the Offensive Line. Assuming they move Lambert to Right Tackle, the Guard situation is kind of scary. Absher isn't anything special and Jagusah can't stay healthy. The depth chart at Defensive Tackle is really, really bad and the Kicking situation is still a mess.
 
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arrowryan

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Dale said:
My issue with laying everything at the feet of Martin is similar to laying everything at the feet of Ash. Freeman hired them, Freeman oversees the program. Head coaches are supposed to psychopathic control freaks that have their hand in everything. If Freeman just hired Ash and then never checked in on the defense before the Miami game….what was he doing? If Freeman hired Martin and never checked in on the plans for the portal….what was he doing?

These are just as valid questions to ask, especially considering the knock of BK compared to the supposed strength of Freeman.
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I can tell you what he wasn’t doing, and that was bowl game prep. MF had all the time in the world in December to make sure the portal operations would be running smoothly.
 
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sfk324

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arrowryan said:
That’s a cool motto to say, but I’m not sure how realistic it is. As it stands today, they have an inoperable defensive front to play with next season. And that’s BEFORE injuries happen.
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He's told you what the culture of the team is and how they are going to operate. There is no reason to think that is going to change because Wake Forest's second best DT wants a bag or a guy who isn't as good as Malachi Fields is leaving Michigan State.
 
JerseyIrishMan

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NDPhilly said:
Crazy enough, regardless of if we get a DT we are still going to be favored in 11 games at worst in 2026. The question is really are we going to good enough to win a title.
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Crazy indeed. And without a DT or two, the answer to the question will be of course not. Sadly.
 
Dale

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Freeman frequently trips before leaping forward. Year 1 without Bowden. We thought the 2026 recruiting class was a sign that wouldn’t happen here. It looks like they was only partially true. He learns from mistakes too often.
 
MacIrish75

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Dale said:
If ND isn’t good in 2026, he ain’t getting offered an NFL job lol
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I mean we will absolutely still be good. It’s insane to think otherwise—especially with the schedule. The question is whether we meet the expectations of being a “natty contender.”
 
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NumbersGuy0520

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Dale said:
My issue with laying everything at the feet of Martin is similar to laying everything at the feet of Ash. Freeman hired them, Freeman oversees the program. Head coaches are supposed to psychopathic control freaks that have their hand in everything. If Freeman just hired Ash and then never checked in on the defense before the Miami game….what was he doing? If Freeman hired Martin and never checked in on the plans for the portal….what was he doing?

These are just as valid questions to ask, especially considering the knock of BK compared to the supposed strength of Freeman.
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Agreed. Though I think the more likely scenario is Freeman DID oversee these to some extent + just didn’t have a good feel for how poorly some of it would go in practice.

A good manager/leader is supposed to be able to deal with incredibly complex evaluations - ones that involve a variety of tradeoffs. There are many variables, and still, you need to be able to have a good spidey sense of how these things will play out before they do. And sometimes you need to come to the conclusion quickly and without everything in front of you.

Decisions like these are the hardest things to get right when leading. It is very much a skill and it can be learned over time, but Freeman is still young.
 
Huntr

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Dale said:
Freeman frequently trips before leaping forward. Year 1 without Bowden. We thought the 2026 recruiting class was a sign that wouldn’t happen here. It looks like they was only partially true. He learns from mistakes too often.
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Actually was thinking similar.

Freeman doesn't forget.

They'll have a year to figure it out and he'll be damned if this happens again in 2027.
 
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IrishFanForever23

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MacIrish75 said:
I mean we will absolutely still be good. It’s insane to think otherwise—especially with the schedule. The question is whether we meet the expectations of being a “natty contender.”
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Do you consider DT's of Mullins, Hughes, and possibly Onye back as natty contending players? Hell no
 
greyhammer90

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Dale said:
My issue with laying everything at the feet of Martin is similar to laying everything at the feet of Ash. Freeman hired them, Freeman oversees the program. Head coaches are supposed to be psychopathic control freaks that have their hand in everything. If Freeman just hired Ash and then never checked in on the defense before the Miami game….what was he doing? If Freeman hired Martin and never checked in on the plans for the portal….what was he doing?

These are just as valid questions to ask, especially considering the knock of BK compared to the supposed strength of Freeman. He can’t only be a rah rah locker room guy.
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Oh I have no issue with blaming Freeman too, it's just more of a direct line to Martin. Martin's entire role is to organize for these moments and handle them. It's definitely also a Freeman issue in that he hired him and has presumably been checking in on the plan for the period.
 
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