Notre Dame football moves one step closer toward landing high-upside defensive tackle in make or break transfer portal period

Notre Dame is closing quickly on a top transfer portal defensive tackle.

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates after the defense scored a safety in the second half of a NCAA football game against NC State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in South Bend.

The transfer portal period just opened up on Friday, and Notre Dame football is already pursuing several talented defensive tackles. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff were tasked with replacing five of the team’s top six defensive tackles from a season ago, so they need to add high-end talent as well as volume of players. There are some intriguing options out there.

One of the most interesting options is former Penn State defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam. The redshirt freshman carries three years of eligibility and also possesses massive upside on the interior. Gilliam is set to visit South Bend on Monday, which was previously reported this week.

Before Gilliam even steps foot on campus, the Fighting Irish are already in a great spot. It was also reported that Notre Dame, Indiana, and Tennessee were the three top schools for the talented defender. If Freeman and Co. pull off a great visit, I like Notre Dame’s chances to get this one done.

If Notre Dame closed on Gilliam, it would be a great start to overhauling the defensive line. With so much turnover, the staff will need to get at least one more defensive tackle, but ideally two. Getting new defensive line coach, Charlie Patridge, as much talent to work with as possible would be ideal.

Xavier Gilliam’s career background

After redshirting as a freshman in 2024, Gilliam earned a spot in the rotation this past season. Despite being a part of a deep rotation, the Maryland native was productive on a snap-to-snap basis. In 13 games, Gilliam managed to collect 15 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and half a sack. With three years of eligibility remaining, there is a ton of upside to continue to tap into.

When Gilliam came out of Gaithersburg (Md.) Quince Orchard in the 2024 recruiting class, he was billed as a bit of a raw football player. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Gilliam finished as a three-star player, which included being rated as the No. 750 overall player, the No. 82 defensive lineman, and the No. 26 player from the state of Maryland in the 2024 class. Only listed at 265 pounds at the time, Gilliam has now ballooned to a 6-2, 300-pound bowling ball on the interior.

Despite the lower rankings, the talented defender still had a long list of impressive options. Some of his top offers included the Nittany Lions, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Indiana, NC State, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Maryland, West Virginia, Boston College, Duke, and Wake Forest, among others.

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