The Notre Dame Fighting Irish entered the transfer portal with very high hopes and had their sights set on multiple impact players who could help shape their national championship destiny heading into 2026.
Two of those names were wide receiver Nick Marsh and cornerback Jontez Williams, both of whom would have filled significant needs for Notre Dame. Instead, the Fighting Irish watched as Marsh committed to Indiana and Williams took his talents to USC in a pair of crushing blows.
So what is the issue for Notre Dame? Was it a lack of money? Did the Fighting Irish cheap out? Did Marsh and Williams simply not like what they heard?
Actually, it may have been none of those factors.
Ryan Roberts of A to Z Sports zeroed in on what actually could have been the primary reason in the Fighting Irish losing both top players: scheduling.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish messed up big time here
Notre Dame had visits scheduled with both Marsh and Williams on Monday, hoping to get the last meeting to try and sway the two stars. The problem? Neither Marsh nor Williams even made it to South Bend, as they both committed before the Fighting Irish even had the chance to woo them.
Roberts went on to say that Notre Dame seems to be using high-school tactics in its attempt to nab some of the top players available in the portal.
“Here is the problem: This isn’t high school recruiting,” Roberts wrote. “The transfer portal world is just so different. With such an abbreviated recruiting process, schools are better served by getting prospective players on campus first and trying to close while they are still there. In most cases, they will only have one chance to pitch. Notre Dame wasn’t on the table, made its pitch, and lost.”
Roberts makes a good point.
When it comes to high-school recruiting, you have a much longer period of time to land prospects. But when it comes to the transfer portal, we are talking about a matter of weeks and sometimes even days, which Notre Dame just experienced with Marsh and Roberts.
The transfer portal opened Jan. 2. Two of the Fighting Irish’s top targets were off the board by Jan. 5.
There is still time for Notre Dame to make moves, but it may need to alter its strategy.
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