The Notre Dame football team is busy playing in the College Football Playoff right now, but they also have to already be preparing for the 2025 season. The transfer portal is open already, so Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish have to balance their CFP prep with transfer portal work. The transfer portal is one of the most important aspects of the college football offseason, and Notre Dame will look for some big pickups as they want to continue the momentum that they have built this season.

Notre Dame is doing offseason work, but their season is far from over. The Fighting Irish just kicked off the College Football Playoff on Friday night, and they got a win over Indiana. Notre Dame is moving on, and they don’t want to think about the offseason as they hunt for the national championship. However, they have to.

The Fighting Irish have built some great momentum this season as they are one of the best teams in the country. Part of the reason they are in this position is because of past big portal pickups. Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish need to continue to utilize the portal to bring in experienced talent. Here are a few players that they should have their eyes on.

Fernando Mendoza, QB, Cal

California Golden Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) during the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at California Memorial Stadium.
© Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Notre Dame football team has had an ACC QB transfer as their starter for the past two seasons, and they might want to go that route again in 2025. Right now, Riley Leonard is the starter for the Fighting Irish. If Notre Dame wants to get a transfer QB this offseason, Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza is someone to keep an eye on. Mendoza threw for over 3,000 yards this season and he threw 16 touchdowns and just six picks. He will be an immediate difference maker at his next stop.

Trevor Mayberry, IOL, Stanford

Experienced offensive lineman are always important, and it is a popular position of interest in the transfer portal. Notre Dame has had some elite offensive lineman in recent years, and they could look to add some experience in the portal this offseason at the position. Another ACC transfer to keep an eye on is Trevor Mayberry, who is transferring from Stanford. He has the potential to come in and be a key contributor from day one.

Josh Thompson, IOL, Northwestern

Another very talented offensive lineman in the transfer portal is Northwestern transfer Josh Thompson. Thompson is one of the best offensive lineman in the transfer portal, and he is close to the Notre Dame football team as he is a midwest kid. Thompson is from Michigan and there has been a lot of buzz about him potentially going to play for the Wolverines, so it would feel good for the Notre Dame football team if they can steal him from a rival.

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Right now, Notre Dame fans are thinking about the College Football Playoff, and rightfully so. Still, it will be interesting to see what transfers the Fighting Irish land as they compete for a national title.

Transfer portal overview

One of the biggest parts of the college football offseason is the transfer portal, and the festivities begin before the offseason actually starts. Teams that didn’t qualify for the postseason have entered their offseason, but there are a lot of teams that still have bowl games to play. The transfer portal opened up on December 9th, so it creates some issues for players that want to transfer but still have a season going.

The transfer portal is a massive part of college football now, and there are definitely positives and negatives to it. One of the biggest issues that people have with it is the timing of the first window. It is open in early December so players can pick a new school and start the next semester there when January rolls around. However, it does create issues as we have already seen players this year on College Football Playoff teams have to miss out on the opportunity to participate in the CFP because of their transfer.

On the flip side, the transfer portal gives teams a chance to completely rebuild their squad in just one offseason. New head coaches can come in and bring in a lot of experienced players from the jump, and it can make for a quick turnaround. Any team has hope in the offseason because of the transfer portal.

The transfer portal opened up for the first time this season on December 9th and it will stay open until December 28th. This window is the main window where a lot of the action takes place, but the transfer portal will open again in the spring.

From April 16th until April 25th, the transfer portal will be back open. That way, players can go through spring ball and have a better idea of what their upcoming season will look like. If they aren’t satisfied, they can leave. We even sometimes see players that transferred in the first window transfer again in the second window, sometimes back to their original school.

The transfer portal is a crucial part of the offseason, and we will be hearing a lot about it from now until the end of the spring.