Notre Dame football has the inside track on a talented DT who could end a brutal transfer portal run
Notre Dame has a chance to make up for the early transfer portal struggles with a talented ACC defensive tackle.
Notre Dame football went into the transfer portal period with some extremely high expectations. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish have a strong roster on paper heading into the 2026 college football season, and the portal was viewed as the missing piece to potentially putting this team over the top. The vibe was that this team was going to be very aggressive, yet there have been several disappointing early misses.
There is no bigger need on the Notre Dame roster than inside at defensive tackle. Not only did Freeman and the Irish need to find some impact players on the interior, but they also needed to try to add multiple players to the rotation. While the early returns aren’t great so far, including misses on Mateen Ibirogba and Horace Lockett, the Irish could be in a good spot with a new entrant into the transfer portal this week. One that has some ties to the Notre Dame staff already.
On Tuesday, former Pitt defensive tackle Francis Brewu entered the portal. The 6-1, 280-pound defender is fresh off his best season for the Panthers, recording 36 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble for the team. Brewu was selected as an Honorable Mention All-ACC selection for his efforts and carries two years of eligibility heading into next season.
One thing to consider with Brewu is his relationship with new Irish defensive line coach Charlie Partridge. He was actually the coach who recruited him while Brewu was going through the recruiting process. It’ll be interesting to see if Notre Dame uses that relationship to its advantage.
Francis Brewu’s career background
Brewu was originally considered to be a consensus three-star player by each of the major recruiting platforms coming out of the 2024 class. He ended up ranked as the No. 481 overall player, the No. 56 defensive lineman, and the No. 20 player from the state of Ohio in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247 Sports Composite ranking. That Columbus (Oh.) Thomas Worthington standout ended up as the second-highest rated player in the class for the Panthers.
Despite a somewhat modest offer list, the Ohio native did have some impressive options on the table. Some of Brewu’s top offers included Miami, Iowa State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Boston College, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Duke, among many others. The offer list will be even better this time around.
In two seasons with the Panthers, Brewu has developed into one of the defensive linemen in the ACC conference. During that stretch, the talented defender managed to record 42 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, 3.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. There is even more talent to continue tapping into as he moves into the future.
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