Notre Dame Football: A couple of interesting transfer portal targets for the Irish

It’s transfer portal season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the rest of college football. The portal officially opened a few weeks ago, and with the only game left being the national championship game, the full scope of what the portal may offer is all but here.

Notre Dame needs a lot from the portal. Tim Prister went on the Irish Illustrated podcast the other day and gave a wish list that I feel is fairly accurate. The Irish could use 2-3 defensive linemen, a quarterback, a couple of safeties, and another wide receiver. It feels like a big list, but if Notre Dame is going to maximize the portal for the 2023 season — it’s a big need.

A couple of those needs recently hit the portal, and to my understanding, Notre Dame will make a run at both DL Anthony Lucas (Texas A&M Aggies) and WR C.J. Williams (USC Trojans). Both players are currently freshmen and were Notre Dame targets back in the 2022 recruiting cycle.

C.J. Williams was once committed to Notre Dame, and knows the program very well. One of the reasons he said why he flipped to USC was to be closer to home, so you have to wonder if that has changed for him.

Some reported that Notre Dame finished 2nd for Lucas who eventually chose Texas A&M — which was part of a massive recruiting class for the Aggies that was seen as a huge NIL cash grab, and now many of those recruits are in the portal right now. Is Notre Dame still a good fit for the Arizona native?

I’m completely unsure if Notre Dame will be able to sign either of these two players, but the fact that they are going to pursue them is encouraging. A freshman with just one semester in the books is one of the easiest undergrad transfer decisions Notre Dame can make (meaning: that it’s something that is very possible).

Notre Dame could use both players, so now we just need to sit back and see if the Irish can work some magic.