Notre Dame was bolstered by the depth of their roster last year, a concept that will vanish in the new era of NIL and the transfer portal.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
One of the biggest storylines from last season's playoff run was Notre Dame's ability to overcome injuries on both sides of the ball.
On offense, the Irish lost starting center Ashton Craig for the season, while also having Anthonie Knapp miss the national championship game. On defense, the Irish lost All-Americans Rylie Mills and Benjamin Morrison, along with edge rushers Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho for the year.
Even going down the stretch, Howard Cross missed many weeks with an ankle injury, while Jeremiyah Love played on one good knee for the last four games of the season. While the blame could be pointed on Loren Landow for the number of injuries this Fighting Irish team endured, look at the way players filled in the gaps.
Gabriel Rubio and Donovan Hinish plugged the middle of the field quite well after Mills' injury in the first-round game against Indiana. Junior Tuihalamaka, Bryce Young, and RJ Oben amounted for edge pressure during the season after the Irish lost their first and second stringers. Cornerback Leonard Moore was thrusted into the spotlight and responded by being a Freshman All-American.
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At every turn, each injury could've derailed Notre Dame's season, yet, the Irish's "next man in" mentality powered them all the way to the national championship game. However, it is specifically this depth that is starting to be eliminated in the NIL era, and Notre Dame is starting to experience the harsh reality.
When the Fighting Irish had three offensive linemen enter the transfer portal, many flags went up in the Notre Dame communities. While Pat Coogan, Rocco Spindler, and Sam Pendleton all had started games in Notre Dame's quest for a national title, 2/3 didn't start week one at Texas A&M. Yet, the depth that these players provided were crucial for Notre Dame because of the number of injuries on the line.
Players like Coogan, Spindler, and Pendleton are the key pieces that every program used to have. It was a key facet that separated Notre Dame and a team like Nick Saban's Alabama. Those Alabama team's second and third string players could compete with the ones. This is what Notre Dame was slowly starting to evolve into, yet in the transfer portal era, why would these guys stick around without a guaranteed starting position? That's why all three lineman transferred to become "the guy" at power four schools. Coogan (Indiana), Spindler (Nebraska), and Pendleton (Tennessee) will all be day one starters at their new schools.
This is par for the course as it pertains to NIL, but the culture Marcus Freeman has built at Notre Dame is still intact. Only 6 players entered the portal after the season ended. Six.
Let's look at how many players entered the portal after the season at some top programs:
Alabama: 24
Texas A&M: 23
LSU: 19
Georgia: 14
Ohio State: 14
Oregon: 11
Texas: 10
Penn State: 9
The transfer portal era in college football is one that is unprecedented, yet the need for a general manager is such a new, valuable position. With the Irish keying in on Chad Bowden's replacement, the culture instilled by Marcus Freeman and his staff has helped navigate them through one of college football's most confusing times.
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