With the holidays approaching, we’ll dive into our holiday wish list for the positions we think Notre Dame should target in the transfer portal.
Notre Dame football: Quarterback
With championship games still to be played and bowl games to be fleshed out, the transfer portal is already filling up quickly. Some of the top quarterbacks currently in the portal include Jeff Sims, Cade McNamara, Luke Altmyer, and Jack Tuttle. Cade was a one-time Notre Dame commit before Michigan was able to flip him. With all honesty, these guys would only move the needle a moderate amount for the position room.
While nothing should be off the table, bringing in a quarterback who would still have to fight hard to earn the starting job would be redundant. Someone with similar attributes as Pyne or Buchner with glaring holes in their game wouldn’t be ideal. The team needs an elite quarterback if Notre Dame football wants to leap into contention next year.
Some names to keep an eye on moving forward are Sam Hartman, Tanner McKee, and one of the Texas Longhorns quarterbacks. While Manning isn’t yet on campus, it seems inevitable that one of Card, Ewers, or Manning won’t be in that group next season. All can and frankly should be playing somewhere next year, and Card or Ewers could be a perfect transfer target for Notre Dame. Sam Hartman would be at the top of my list if I had to choose, given his 63% completion percentage with 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last year.
Notre Dame football: Wide receiver
Another position Notre Dame is starting to recruit a lot better but may benefit by securing a win-now player is wide receiver. With Styles, Colzie, Thomas, and Merriweather continuing to progress next year, adding an elite player now would boost the group immensely. Again, this is a position where I’d try to target a graduate transfer or someone that wouldn’t stay long. Given how the recruiting looks down the road, we don’t want to block guys like Greathouse, James, Flores, or Williams.
There are a few 4-star guys in the portal, but I expect high-priority transfers to enter the market in the coming weeks. Last year saw 19 4-star receivers and 1 5-star recruit move to new schools in the portal. Jordan Addison, Mario Williams, Jadon Haselwood, and Jermaine Burton were among them. The top players will be available, but will they want to come to play for a school with a big question mark regarding their quarterback position?
Notre Dame football: Linebacker
While this is a position of need being taken care of brilliantly in the coming years by Marcus Freeman, it’s a position that needs some immediate work. The current group just seemed a bit slow to the ball this year. With guys like Jaylen Sneed and Drayk Bowen entering the fold, they should be fine in the long run. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to add an impact player that could elevate the position group to the next level.
There are only a few transfers in the portal currently at the linebacking spot, but again, expect more to become available. Last year, the portal contained Drew Sanders, another highly touted recruit who left Alabama. Adding an elite linebacker to an excellent and relatively young group in the next few years would boost their production on the field.
Notre Dame football: Other positions they could explore
A few other positions they could explore would be kicker, defensive line, and safety or cornerback. Another position that was sorely missing above-average on-field production from the upperclassmen this year was the secondary. Notre Dame will bring in a few recruits in 2023 who can contribute immediately, but rounding out the room with elite veteran talent could help.
Losing Foskey and the Ademilola twins could be a big blow to the defensive front. However, bringing in a transfer or two with a proven record of sacking quarterbacks could help bridge the gap. There are plenty of young guys in the program capable of filling those shoes, but nothing is certain. Brian Mason is still building out his special teams unit, and while Blake Grupe had a fine year, he could look to add more veterans to the team.
There’s one thing I’m positive about; the availability of guys that will want to, and can come to play for, Notre Dame. After that, it’s on Freeman and his staff to prove why they’re the missing pieces to a Notre Dame playoff run.