Notre Dame Fans Listen...Goosfraba...Goosfraba

Notre Dame fans & hell, why not the haters too, it’s time we all take a collective deep breath. As the transfer portal officially opened just less than a week ago, players have begun to take visits & make commitments. In this short time, Irish X (Twitter) has gone into a full breakdown frenzy after a couple of potential targets didn’t even make it on campus. I’m here to say… Goosfraba people… Goosfraba.

Look, do we want all of the best of the best in the Blue & Gold? Yes. Still, before you lose your cool on random Indiana or USC fans on social media as they taunt you over a portal player or two, sit back & take a true big-picture look…

While we have not gained anything yet, officially in the portal... we lost literally close to no one in our two-deep depth chart. Really, it was only Joshua Burnham & KK Smith who played meaningful snaps that decided to head out. So starting there, we have already achieved one of, if not the most difficult things to do in college football in 2026… RETENTION! Including our head ball coach Marcus Freeman, as many NFL teams attempted to lure him away.

Now, being the top-tier program that we are, we are losing impact players to the draft, most notably RB Jeremiyah Love & Jadarian Price. Love is as irreplaceable as they come. Along with him, two stud OL in Amail Wagner & Billy Schurath. Yet the panic has not come from those two position groups from fans. In fact, ND has not been linked to any transfers from either of these positions. Instead, losing a WR to Indiana & a DB to USC has the world falling. CHILL!

Highlighted Players are returning for 2026 season

First off, our needs are nowhere near some of the other top teams for 2026. On the defensive side, we not only have 4 of the 5 starting secondary coming back, 4 of our top 5 linebackers, & 2 EDGE rushers… ALSO let’s not forget two 5-star STUDS coming in for spring practice in EDGE Rodney Dunham & DB Joey O’Brien, who are also a part of the nation’s top 5 recruiting class across the board. For those who did not see, btw, O’Brien balled out in a recent all-star game for top high school players around the country, he looks to be the real deal to impact the game right away. Not to mention a line of dudes who redshirted in our system this past season who are looking to contribute.

The only position of need on the defensive side is interior lineman, which is the only group whose players did not commit before getting to campus this week. The players we actually are in desperate need of are still in play… so again, why fans, WHY!

Now onto the Indiana hysteria, as they lil-bro us Irish fans all over the internet ’cause they got a WR & our rotational EDGE transfer (no hate on Burnham, loved all he gave us & understand he wanted starter minutes). I’m not sure I understand the panic at the wideout spot. Not only do we have Jaden Greathouse & Jordan Faison coming back, but let’s not forget over the past two recruiting classes we have signed 4 sons of future Hall of Famers. We gotta think one of them has to be a complete STUD! Including Larry Fitzgerald’s son, 4-star signee Devin out of Arizona, who had 1,200 yards & 15 TDs in his senior season. I have seen this kid firsthand & at 6'2", 200, he has the makings of being that bigger boundary WR we are all hoping to have for CJ Carr.

We then throw in Jerome Bettis Jr. at 6'2 & Cam Williams at 6'2 as well. We have options that know the system, Carr, & the coaching staff already. The need for WR may not be as desperate as thought by the fans online. We have brought in some of the top talent in the past two recruiting classes, let’s see what they’ve got. I get we live in a society where the shiniest new toy is wanted now… but come on, let’s understand the full picture.

We have Coach Freeman in the driver’s seat. Let’s just sit back, pop in the headphones, & open up TikTok, Reddit, or whatever your heart desires, ’cause we don’t need to worry, folks. Freeman knows what he already has on campus & our capabilities. If he isn’t going for certain positions hard, we must trust him. There will be some new names to learn in 2026, but whether they come from the portal or within the building, the Irish will be ready to go in the fall under Marcus Freeman, this we can trust in.