Notre Dame just got a massive bump to their championship chances in 2026, and it has nothing to do with the transfer portal
Notre Dame football and HC Marcus Freeman received some great roster news heading into the 2026 college football season.
Notre Dame football is generating significant buzz in the transfer portal these days, closing on talented players like Tionne Gray, Keon Keeley, Francis Brewu, Quincy Porter, and Mylan Graham, among others.
While it won’t make quite the same headlines, head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish received another huge bump on Thursday to increase their chances of winning a national championship in 2026. Star fighting Irish defensive end Boubacar Traore announced that he will be returning for his redshirt junior season in 2026.
While nobody around South Bend was overly worried about Traore entering the 2026 NFL Draft, it is still a refreshing bit of news. In 2025, we saw that Traore can be a difference-maker getting after the quarterback, especially impressive given that he was coming off a knee injury the season before. If Traore can make another big jump in 2026, which is possible, being further removed from that injury, Chris Ash’s defense has a chance to have one of the best pass rushers in all of college football.
With the Fighting Irish breaking in a couple of new defensive linemen in Keeley and Brewu, while also overhauling the interior, having a leader like Traore is huge. Heading into 2026, Freeman’s squad will be considered one of the favorites to win a national championship. The return of talented players like Traore would be a huge reason why, on top of their impressive transfer portal haul.
Boubacar Traore’s career background
While most ranked Traore as a four-star player coming out of the 2023 recruiting class, his rankings were a bit all over the place. The talented pass rusher finished ranked No. 227 overall, No. 27 among defensive linemen, and No. 4 in the state of Massachusetts according to the 247Sports Composite ranking. That ranking would have been a lot higher if Traore hadn’t missed most of his senior season due to an injury.
Originally committed to Boston College, Notre Dame eventually flipped Traore. Some of Traore’s other top offers coming out included Michigan, Pitt, and Wisconsin, among many others.
After some promising early flashes in his college career, Traore put together a fully healthy year this past season. In 21 games in the blue and gold, the 6-4, 250-pound pass rusher managed to collect 49 total tackles, 16 tackles of loss, 10.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception. Most of that production came in 2025, where Traore led the team with 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.
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