Notre Dame takes on a horde of portal transfers after beating Penn State

Notre Dame football is already reaping the benefits of winning a college football championship. They are the Fighting Irish adding several transfer portal targets after a win over Penn State, by On3. Notre Dame adds a total of four transfers at various positions, but mostly on defense.

The Fighting Irish received commitments from: Jalen Stroman, Elijah Hughes, Noah Burnette and Jared Dawson. All four players are highly regarded transfers from the power 4 program.

Stroman is a defensive back coming out of Virginia Tech. Hughes is a defensive lineman at USC. Burnett is a kicker transferring from North Carolina and Dawson is a defensive end from Louisville.

The Fighting Irish have unfinished business in the 2024 season, as the team is in the CFP final against Ohio State. Notre Dame has not won a national championship since 1988when Lou Holtz coached at the school.

Notre Dame football is building a core of talent for the future

The Fighting Irish’s latest signings are mostly on defense, which will continue to help on that side of the ball. Notre Dame is expected to lose a lot of talent this offseason, following the CFP Finals.

The defensive line is one area where Notre Dame football is not expected to return much experience. That unit will be bolstered by the addition of Hughes and Dawson. Hughes collected seven total tackles at USC while appearing in 15 games. Dawson recorded 19 tackles in 2024 while starting two games for Louisville.

In the game against Notre Dame, Dawson was impressive. He scored four times for Louisville in that game, even though the Cardinals lost to Notre Dame.

Burnett is an experienced kicker, connecting on more than 71 percent of his field goal attempts in 2024. The kicker has made seven field goal attempts of at least 40 yards this season for the Tar Heels. In 2023, he went 19-for-20 on field goals.

Stroman is an experienced safety with one more year of college football eligibility left. The safety posted just five tackles in 2024. Prior to that, he had two stellar years capped off by a 2023 campaign in which he collected 55 total tackles. He will certainly bring a lot of leadership and experience to the Notre Dame secondary.

Notre Dame football players are playing for the state championship of the state of Ohio January 20. The Fighting Irish defeated Indiana, Georgia and Penn State to reach the title game.