ESPN names Tionne Gray the top Notre Dame transfer. This massive defensive tackle brings Oregon's power to the Irish front.
Notre Dame got off to a slow start with its 2026 transfer portal class, but the Irish finished strong and added an impact group on both sides of the ball. Marcus Freeman and the Irish staff landed potential impact players at wide receiver, on the defensive line, at cornerback and got a big boost at kicker. There are a number of players that the Irish hope to have an impact in 2026, but ESPN has one player in mind as the top pickup.
ESPN college football writer Max Olson picked his top transfer portal pickup for all preseason Top 25 teams. The network has Notre Dame as the No. 3 team in its early preseason Top 25 rankings. Olson picked defensive tackle Tionne Gray as the top portal pickup for the Irish in 2026. Gray, a transfer from Oregon, was the last position player to announce for Notre Dame in this portal cycle.
"Gray was one of the top young defensive linemen available in the portal after starting three games for the Ducks during his redshirt freshman season. The 6-6, 336-pound interior lineman recorded 18 tackles, two tackles for loss and a blocked field goal while primarily playing a rotational role (around 15-20 snaps per game) behind A'Mauri Washington and Bear Alexander. The Irish are hoping he's ready to take the next big step in his career and play a major role for a defensive front that has added some big-time transfer talent with Gray, Francis Brewu (Pitt) and Keon Keeley (Alabama)." - Max Olson, ESPN
Landing Gray was massive for Notre Dame, both figuratively and literally. He's the kind of long, thick, powerful point of attack player that Notre Dame has tried to find in recent recruiting and portal cycles. He was mostly a gap eater at Oregon, but he showed the athletic skills for his size to also be a more disruptive player in a defense that allows its linemen to attack more, which Notre Dame's did last season.
Gray is certainly a good choice for top portal player, but as Olson mentioned land Brewu and Keeley was also important for the Notre Dame defense. Personally, my choice for top portal pickup is Brewu, who is the most proven and established incoming defensive lineman. Brewu was an honorable mention All-ACC performer in 2025 after racking up 36 tackles, seven tackles for loss and a sack. Like Gray, Brewu was in just his second season of college football. His film against Notre Dame was arguably the best work an interior lineman had all season against the Irish.
They aren't getting as much attention, but the cornerbacks - DJ McKinney (Colorado) and Jayden Sanders (Michigan) are players to watch for the Irish defense in 2026 as well.
McKinney has one season of eligibility remaining. Brewu and Keeley have two seasons left. Gray and Sanders have three seasons of eligibility remaining. Kicker Spencer Porath (Purdue) has two seasons remaining while wide receiver Mylan Graham (Ohio State) has three seasons and wideout Quincy Porter (Ohio State) has four seasons of eligibility remaining.
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