Notre Dame and Ohio State have reached the same postseason destination with rosters built much the same way.
The programs set to play in the College Football Playoff’s national championship game Monday night — kickoff is set for 7:30 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with ESPN carrying the main telecast — sign elite recruiting classes from the high school ranks year after year. That has been and continues to be the foundation of their rosters.
While many coaches relentlessly mine the NCAA transfer portal in hopes of finding gems, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day have used that avenue judiciously, equally and with great success while putting together their current teams. Why? Because they can.
Freeman’s seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (14-1) and Day’s eighth-seeded Buckeyes (13-2) are college football royalty and can offer NIL riches to go with the exposure and coaching enhancing a player’s chance of winning a championship and getting to the next level.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard said he had mixed feelings about going into the portal in December 2023 after three years at Duke — but he wouldn’t be in the position he’s in right now if he hadn’t made the move.