By Mark Pszonak
With action in the transfer portal slowing down, it is time to take a closer look at how each P4 school did during this cycle. Up now are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The skinny: As usual, Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman were in a favorable position to plug only a few holes through the portal. The biggest question mark going into the offseason was at quarterback, which the Irish answered. They were also able to strengthen their wide receiving corps, add experience and talent to the secondary and a possible game changing defensive end to an already talented unit.
Total # entries into portal: 20
Total # of scholarship players who entered portal: 19
Number of scholarship players who withdrew: 0
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Key losses: WR Rico Flores Jr. (UCLA), TE Holden Staes (Tennessee), WR Tobias Merriweather (Cal), WR Chris Tyree (Virginia)
Key additions: WR Kris Mitchell (FIU), K Mitch Jeter (South Carolina), QB Riley Leonard (Duke), DB Jordan Clark (Arizona State), DB Rod Heard II (Northwestern), WR Beaux Collins (Clemson), DE RJ Oben (Duke)
Final thoughts: Notre Dame’s level of success will likely rest on the shoulders of Riley Leonard, who when healthy at Duke was one of the top quarterbacks in the country. The dynamic dual-threat has the potential to lead the Irish to a memorable season, but will his injury history cause the coaching staff to curtail his running? If he does spend most of his time passing, then the Irish did him a favor by adding Kris Mitchell and Beaux Collins to the receiving arsenal. Defensively, Jordan Clark and Rod Heard II will both play very important roles in the secondary, while RJ Oben is a talented pass rusher. Finally, Mitch Jeter’ s addition may prove to be invaluable, as he arrives in South Bend after making 23 of his 25 field goal attempts during his time at South Carolina.
