4 options that Notre Dame should consider for their wide receiver transfer portal strategy as the board becomes a lot smaller
There is a way for Notre Dame football to recover from their early wide receiver transfer portal blunders.
Since the transfer portal opened, the Notre Dame football fan base has been met with a ton of frustrations. There was an expectation that head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff were going to go all in with championship aspirations in 2026, but things have been rough so far. That is especially true at wide receiver, where Notre Dame had a massive miss early on when Michigan State standout Nick Marsh opted for the Indiana Hoosiers. The wide receiver board has quickly dried up.
In order for the Notre Dame program to recover, there are still some intriguing wide receiver options available. This is a four-step process that will make the wide receiver room for the Irish better. Here are some players and strategies to keep a close eye on.
Reconnect with Isiah Canion
If you think back to the 2024 recruiting class, Notre Dame once held a commitment from Georgia native Isiah Canion. The 6-4, 215-pound pass catcher eventually decided to decommit, and he ended up with Georgia Tech due to wanting to be closer to home. If Canion has gotten past that home dependency, he would absolutely be a player worth checking in on. Still only 19 years old, Canion has the body type, straight line speed, and upside to develop into a tremendous boundary weapon. He managed to haul in 33 receptions for 480 yards and four touchdowns despite playing with a running quarterback in Haynes King. It is uncertain if the Fighting Irish have
Go after Tre Richardson
While Tre Richardson is not the boundary type that Notre Dame needs, he brings a speed profile that is very hard to ignore. The Kansas native has had a fascinating journey from junior college All-American to D2 superstar, and now a standout in the SEC. While diminutive at 5-10 and 175 pounds, Richardson is dangerous every time he touches the football. He won’t bring the size that you would want outside, but Richardson’s ability after the catch would be an important commodity to couple with Carr. Like Canion, I have no idea if Notre Dame will push for Richardson, but there is no reason why they shouldn’t. Legit 4.3-second speed coming from a high academic institution? That feels like a no-brainer.
Close on both and keep it moving
Here’s the thing: Getting one of those two options is more than enough. If you can get both, however, you take them. It would be extremely hard for me to say no to the impact size of Canion or the home run speed of Richardson. If you did manage to get both, combined with the likes of Jordan Faison, Jaden Greathouse, and the other younger pass catchers, now we are cooking with grease.
Go all in on the younger wide receivers
Barring some other talented fits entering the portal, Notre Dame shouldn’t take a wide receiver just to take one. If you can’t land an impact player like Canion or Richardson, just go all in on your younger wide receivers. Between Faison, Greathouse, Micah Gilbert, Cam Williams, Logan Saldate, Kaydon Finley, Bubba Frazier, and Brayden Robinson, there should be more than enough talent in that room to make for some big plays. Mike Brown has a reputation as a great developer as a wide receiver coach. It is time to earn your money.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish News
Debating the reasons behind Notre Dame’s early transfer portal struggles – The unjustifiable, the logical, and the downright bizarre
What are the real reasons why Notre Dame has had so many early transfer portal struggles?
