Marcus Freeman suffers an underrated portal loss that is going to hurt special teams

The Transfer Portal has now claimed another Notre Dame victim, as defensive end Preston Zinter has officially entered. Zinter did not play too much on the defensive side of the ball, but he was a big part of Notre Dame's special teams.

Zinter moved to the defensive line in the offseason last year, so the position was fairly new to him. He saw action at the position in three games this year and recorded seven tackles. However, Zinter had way more playing time on special teams, so much so that no other player had more special teams appearances than he did, and that was only in 10 games.

Before joining the defensive line, Zinter was a linebacker for the Irish, but clearly the coaching staff saw something more for him, and now he will take that to his next team.

This is a tough hit for Notre Dame, which needs help on the defensive line this next season, and depth will be key. Zinter could have seen his role grow more in 2026, but instead, he is taking his talents elsewhere. Having played three seasons with the Irish, Zinter will have two years of eligibility left.

With two years of eligibility left, Zinter may not be looking for a team where he could potentially have a bigger role; he probably will want to find somewhere that will allow him to have that bigger role immediately.

When does the transfer portal close?

The college football Transfer Portal, which opened on January 2 of this year, is set to close exactly two weeks later on January 16. This will be the only window for the transfer portal this year, as the NCAA decided to eliminate the spring portal window.

The only time players will be able to enter the portal on January 16 is if there is a head coaching change. If that happened, players have 30 days to decide whether or not they want to enter the portal.