In 2024, Notre Dame lost the National Championship to Ohio State. In 2025, the Irish came into the season with a chip on their shoulder. They started out the season 0-2 and then went on to win 10 straight games to get themselves into the College Football Playoff. Finally, Notre Dame was completely snubbed from the playoff after being in the field in every single CFP ranking.
That is a lot for one team to go through in a little over a year. Now, it feels like Notre Dame is fired up and a team that will not be stopped in 2026. Marcus Freeman is the type of coach to use all of those hardships and get his team into the right mindset to compete at the highest level.
Now, Freeman's job is to build the best roster possible so that the Irish don't leave their fate in the selection committee's hands again. With the transfer portal now open, Freeman knows he has to go get the best of the best, and the official visits set for this week prove he is trying to do just that.
Notre Dame is set to host some of the top players in the transfer portal this week
Going into the offseason, it is becoming more and more clear which positions Notre Dame needs to focus on. The wide receiver position, the defensive line position, and the secondary need the most attention this season. Looking at the list of official visits for Notre Dame this week, it looks like Freeman is planning to give those positions the attention they need.
Tomorrow is the beginning of a huge week for the Irish as Nick Marsh, Mateen Ibirogba, Jontez Williams, Xavier Townsend, Xavier Gilliam, Horace Lockett, and Ian Strong are all scheduled to be on campus this week.
— Bruce Straughan (@bruce_straughan) January 4, 2026
The tweet above shows some of the top players coming to South Bend this week. For the wide receiver room, the Irish are hosting Nick Marsh, who many believe is the No. 1 receiver in the portal, Xavier Townsend, and Ian Strong. Each of those guys played with a power conference team in 2025 and brings their own strengths, and any one of them would add immediate strength to Notre Dame's WR room.
On the defensive line, Notre Dame is bringing in Mateen Ibirogba, Horace Lockett, and Xavier Gilliam. Each of those players was one of the best on their line in 2025 and would be huge additions to the Irish pass rush. To round out the defense, bringing in Jontez Williams could be a great addition to help Leonard Moore in 2026.
Marcus Freeman isn't messing around in 2026, and he is going to make sure to do everything he possibly can to get Notre Dame back to the championship game and finish the job.