It's been a bizarre Transfer Portal period for Notre Dame. The saga of DJ McKinney is certainly Exhibit No. 1 for that.
The defensive back from Colorado reportedly committed and signed with the Fighting Irish a few days ago. However, mere moments after the reports of Marcus Freeman's first portal win circulated on social media, the commitment was supposedly withdrawn. There were almost no details as to just how that came to be or what happened.
Now, on Monday morning, it appears Notre Dame has completed the do-over. This time, DJ McKinney has officially confirmed on social media that he is committed to the Irish. In the process, he's the first official Transfer Portal addition (not counting a return from a current ND player who looked to see if the grass was really greener and decided it was not).
DJ McKinney officially commits to Notre Dame after strange portal saga
The Irish will be the third team McKinney has played with over the course of his career. He spent his first two seasons with Oklahoma State and then moved to Colorado in 2024. That season, he recorded his best numbers, tallying 61 tackles, 3 interceptions, and a whopping 8 passes defended.
2025 saw a drop off in his stats thanks to being banged up. However, he still managed 34 tackles, a pick, and 5 passes defended. He's someone that his now-former head coach, Deion Sanders, has talked at length in glowing terms.
Now, DJ McKinney will spend his final collegiate season with a Notre Dame secondary that has routinely produced some of the best defenders in the sport. It's also thought that the former Buffalo is the first of a mini-flood of commitments coming in the early part of the week.