When Quincy Porter joined the Notre Dame football program over the winter, plenty of excitement surrounded what the receiver could do in Mike Denbrock’s offense. Unfortunately, the former Ohio State player is still nursing an injury he sustained before signing with the Fighting Irish. According to head coach Marcus Freeman, Porter might be closer than ever to finally seeing the field in South Bend.
Freeman told local media during his weekly Zoom meeting on Thursday that Porter is "doing more than he's ever done since he's got here." That’s still not a ton, considering how long he’s been out and how much of a mystery his return date has been. Still, it’s enough to get excited about getting a wide receiver weapon added to the rotation just as the schedule gets tougher.
Porter isn't participating in full-team drills in Notre Dame practices yet, according to Freeman, but he's doing individual drills. Freeman said Porter is still "a couple of weeks" away, but he's getting closer.
Porter underwent offseason surgery on his left knee before having another procedure in August. He has returned to the practice field, but it remains unclear when he will be ready to contribute in a game.
Marcus Freeman reveals Quincy Porter is nearing his Notre Dame football debut
The August procedure was a bit of a surprise, since the Notre Dame training staff said over the summer they thought he'd be back to “full go” by the start of fall camp. However, he wasn’t close to being ready to go and instead went back under the knife.
Notre Dame coaches have plenty of reason to be excited about Porter’s potential if and when he can play this season. Porter was a 5-star wide receiver prospect in the 2025 recruiting class. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound receiver from Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey originally signed with Ohio State before transferring to Notre Dame in January of 2026.
As a senior in 2024, Porter caught 57 passes for 969 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 17.0 yards per reception while helping Bergen Catholic finish 11-1 and win the New Jersey Non-Public A state championship. He finished his high school career with 133 receptions, 2,624 yards, and 38 touchdowns across three seasons. As a freshman at Ohio State in 2025, Porter appeared in five games and caught four passes for 59 yards without scoring a touchdown.
He joined Notre Dame from Ohio State alongside Mylan Graham, who has been healthy this year but has seen limited action in a wide receiver corps that has yet to really establish itself. With the Buckeyes last year, Graham caught 6 passes for 93 yards. So far this season, he’s got just 3 catches for 32 yards. He has yet to score his first career touchdown.
Taken literally, Freeman's statement suggests Porter could be back just ahead of Notre Dame’s showdown with BYU on October 17. Having another weapon to throw to against one of the country's more talented defenses would certainly be welcome. Hopefully, if he can’t get back that soon, guys like Micah Gilbert will keep stepping up.
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