Now that Notre Dame’s fall camp is officially over and the focus has shifted to Wisconsin, questions like “who will start at wide receiver in Week 1” matter even more. Unfortunately, one thing the Fighting Irish do know is that Quincy Porter won’t be part of that answer. For the transfer wide receiver, the more important question is “when will he meet deadlines and be full go in practice?”
During Friday’s press conference to close out camp, Marcus Freeman discussed the waiting game the program is taking with Porter. He also said the wide receiver, who is still recovering from surgery on his left patellar tendon in January, needed another procedure that they hope will speed up the timetable. Just what that timetable is now remains a mystery.
Quincy Porter undergoes another procedure during Notre Dame football recovery
“He's still a couple of weeks out, and he's getting better,” Freeman stated. “…He's still got a little bit of time to be in a position where we feel like he can help this team. It'll happen. It's going to happen here soon. I just don't know when it's going to be.”
While Notre Dame is framing this new procedure as moving forward, it’s hard not to see it as another step back. In a media briefing on March 18, Notre Dame’s head athletic trainer, Rob Hunt, projected Porter to miss all of spring practice, which he did, but said he would be back and ready for a “full summer of activity.” Now, Porter is still at least a couple of weeks from hitting the mark the team thought he’d reach months ago.
Despite more questions than answers, the coaches are still putting a positive spin on things for now. Last week, wide receivers coach Mike Brown said Porter’s progress has shown he’ll eventually be worth the wait.
“We’ll take it day by day,” Brown told the assembled media during his time at the mic. “He’s doing a great job with the things we’re asking. He’s moving around, he’s looking good. We’ll continue to take it one day at a time.”
It helps that Porter was never viewed as a guaranteed contributor in 2026. The Notre Dame coaches knew he missed time with Ohio State in 2025 due to injury. He had just 4 catches for 59 yards, spread over 3 games. If the worst happens and whatever is going on with his leg keeps him out for the lion's share of this season, he’s still got three years of eligibility.
It also helps that other receivers are stepping up nicely in Quincy Porter’s absence. Walk-on lacrosse player Matt Jeffery might be the guy getting the most benefit from Porter not taking snaps in practice. Jeffery has impressed the coaches mightily in fall camp after missing spring practice to play his other sport.
In an ideal world, Porter will hit that “couple-of-weeks” timetable and help just as Notre Dame’s schedule starts getting more difficult. Whether this is that perfect world is a massive question.
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