The transfer portal is set to open on Jan. 2, and chaos will quickly begin. Notre Dame football is expected to be more aggressive than usual this portal season, both in terms of quantity and willingness to throw around some money. Head coach Marcus Freeman is back in 2026, and he understands how talented his team is. They are a player or two from pushing this team over the top.

To get ready for the portal opening up, here is an early primer for what to expect from the Fighting Irish. That includes the main positions of need and some early names to know. Buckle up for a crazy couple of weeks.

Top Notre Dame portal needs 

Three positions of need should be the top priority for the Notre Dame staff when the portal opens up this week. I expect the staff to pursue a veteran quarterback for depth purposes, but that isn’t too exciting to talk about. Here are the positions to familiarize yourself with most.

Defensive tackle 

There is no question that defensive tackle is the biggest need on the Notre Dame roster right now. Even before Donovan Hinish medically retired, the Irish needed to push for two more interior defensive linemen.

Without him, Notre Dame is now down four of the five main rotational defensive tackles from last season. Mateen Ibirogba (Wake Forest) is probably the biggest name to know right now, but there are other options out there. I expect Notre Dame to have serious interest in a Big Ten defender who hasn’t entered the portal yet, but I expect him to soon.

Wide receiver 

Notre Dame needs to attack the portal once again at wide receiver, but it doesn’t have to be for volume this time around. The Irish just need to bring in one wide receiver, but it must be one who can bring impact size to the boundary.

Nick Marsh (Michigan State) is a popular early name to know, although I don’t feel overly optimistic about the Irish chances. There is, however, another talented Big Ten pass catcher that Notre Dame would have a strong chance at if they decided to enter, which is a bit up in the air right now.

Placekicker 

Kicking field goals and extra points was a disaster for Notre Dame in 2025. I am not even close to an expert on field goal kicking, so I couldn’t even tell you who the top options will be in the portal. That is up to special teams coordinator Marty Biagi to figure out, but he needs to.

Wildcard spots

For now, I will leave running back out of the conversation, even though the Irish staff has done its homework on the options out there, such as Hollywood Smothers (NC State). I am, however, not sure whether they will push for one. Here are some positions I do believe could be sneaky needs for Notre Dame once the portal opens up.

Tight end 

With Eli Raridon off to the NFL, Notre Dame has very little proven production at the tight end position. Cooper Flanagan played in just one football game this season after coming back from an Achilles injury, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can get back to full health this offseason.

If James Flanigan or true freshman Ian Premer are ready to play, then the team could avoid it during the portal cycle. If they aren’t comfortable with the depth, there is a long list of talented portal tight ends out there, including Brody Foley (Tulsa).

Nickel corner

With Dallas Golden in place, Notre Dame doesn’t necessarily need to bring in a starting nickel like Khalil Barnes (Clemson), but bringing in a rotation option could be a strong addition.

Aside from Golden, there aren’t a lot of no-brainer options to also play in the slot. Would the Irish staff trust a freshman to play there immediately like Nick Reddish? Is there an older option that could slide inside? I’m not sure there is an ideal answer on the roster right now, aside from the talented sophomore.

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