When the Notre Dame football team lured not one, but two former Ohio State wide receivers to South Bend through the Transfer Portal, it was already a big win. Now that they're with the Fighting Irish, Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter aren't mincing words about why they made the jump.
Graham and Porter obviously joined Marcus Freeman's program because they believe they can play more, but it was more than that. What's more, both players made some comments that make Freeman look even better and make Ohio State's Ryan Day look pretty bad in comparison.
Graham's comments were the most scathing when he was asked about the differences between Notre Dame and Ohio State. He first made it clear that academics were actually important in South Bend. Then he dropped the mic.
Ohio State transfer Mylan Graham says the biggest adjustment has been academics.
— Talia B (@talia_baia) February 18, 2026
When I asked what’s different:
“Not too different, You just have to actually go in person… at Notre Dame obviously everybody knows how it is with academics” pic.twitter.com/hrWjaLr4rM
Notre Dame football transfer Mylan Graham highlights academic differences after leaving Ohio State
"You just have to actually go in person… at Notre Dame obviously everybody knows how it is with academics."
It's possible that Graham meant there were more online classes, but that's certainly not how it came off. Especially when he added that academics were more important for the Fighting Irish.
It was comments that Porter made that went more under the radar, but could be an even bigger indictment of Ryan Day, mainly because it was less of an obvious zing.
"Obviously, I had great conversations with him," Porter said about the access he got to Marcus Freeman. "I was in his office a couple days ago, just being able to see him around. I think it's been great being able to speak to him. The amount of times you see him, because sometimes you don't see the head coach all that often, but I've been able to see him, speak to him, and had really good conversations with him."
The obvious implication here is that Day is not nearly as accessible to his players as Freeman is. That's something that might stick in Ohio State fans' craw a bit.
It's also something that Notre Dame should be proud of. And finally, when looking to pinpoint why recruiting has been so much better under Marcus Freeman, his visibility with players and recruits could be a big one.