Notre Dame football and head coach Marcus Freeman have reason to feel good about most of their transfer portal additions from this past offseason.

That includes starting defensive tackles Francis Brewu and Tionne Gray, who have both been tremendous for the Fighting Irish, along with defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Kicker Spencer Porath has also been very good. He has seemingly solved a kicking issue that was a huge Achilles heel for this team over the last couple of years.

One position, however, has not lived up to the expectations set when the additions were made. That position is wide receiver.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and wide receivers coach Mike Brown landed portal commitments from former Ohio State wide receivers Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham. Both were once considered five-star recruits coming out of high school.

Quincy Porter’s season ended before it started

The news on Porter came last week. He had been dealing with a knee injury since January, and a recurring issue required another surgery. That will keep him out for the remainder of the 2026 college football season.

We never saw a single snap from Porter in a game for Notre Dame, and that highly anticipated debut will most likely have to wait until next season. At 6-4, 215 pounds, he had a lot of people excited about his potential as the starting boundary receiver for the Irish.

The injury derailed all of that.

Mylan Graham has been the bigger surprise

Graham was the hot commodity this offseason. If you think back to spring practice, he was considered a potential breakout star at wide receiver for Notre Dame.

Flash forward to the season, and Jordan Faison and Micah Gilbert have stolen the show. Faison was a known commodity, so his production isn’t much of a surprise. The ascension of Gilbert, on the other hand, has been the story of the year so far. As a tandem, the two have hauled in 43 receptions for 739 yards and six touchdowns through five games.

Outside of that duo, no other wide receiver has done a ton. That includes Graham, who has just three receptions for 32 yards. Those numbers leave him tied for the 10th-leading receiver on this Notre Dame offense. That is a far cry from the breakout star many expected entering the season.

In an almost unbelievable development, Graham played as many snaps against the North Carolina Tar Heels this past game as Porter did. That number is zero.

The Irish made a big investment in both players. For whatever reason, the opportunities just have not been there for Graham. There’s probably more of a story behind the scenes for why he did not play this past week and why his opportunities have been so rare.

What comes next for the Irish wide receiver room

Porter’s injury and Graham’s lack of production have turned the portal haul at wide receiver into a massive disappointment. Unfortunately, the miss also impacts the program financially.

There is still a lot of upside and optimism for what these two can do down the road. Together, they still have five years of eligibility remaining after the 2026 season.

For now, the focus shifts to how Graham finishes the year. That matters even more with Notre Dame needing more impact and presence from the slot position.

Some folks will remain optimistic for the long term. Still, this has been one of the bigger disappointments for the Irish in 2026. Most thought Porter and Graham would be the two most important additions to this roster, and it has turned out to be anything but.