Hold your cards close to your heart, but hold your quarterbacks even closer. That’s the trendiest mantra these days in college football, in the wake of a rampant transfer portal QB tampering storm. The biggest victim this time? The uniquely independent (and storied) program, Notre Dame. High off of a CFB Championship challenge, a 14-2 record, and a heartfelt monologue of “I’m proud of what they’ve done” by Marcus Freeman after the 23-34 loss to Ohio State, 2025 was supposed to be about rejuvenation and clapbacks. Unfortunately, though, it seems to have turned into a meticulous game of scuffle. Don’t believe us? Well, wait till you hear it from the horse’s mouth. But before that…

Just to give you an idea about how far some teams are willing to go… Just in December last year, a revelation by On3’s Pete Nakos left us stunned: Ohio State Buckeyes’ NFL-bound signal caller Quinn Ewers had been offered a staggering $6 million—more than what some NFL players earn—“to return to College Football and enter the Transfer Portal💰”. That same month, Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah handed a bitter surprise to his coach Jon Sumrall when he entered the transfer portal, and signed with the Duke Blue Devils within 48 hours. The kicker, and possibly the reason behind Mensah’s decision? The QB became one of the highest NIL earners in the sport with a potential $3-4 million next year.

Notably, the tampering phobia reached such a high that even the once-vital spring football game schedules fell flat like a house of cards. Nebraska’s Matt Rhule put it best: “I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world. I don’t want these guys all being able to watch our guys and say, ‘Wow, he looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him’.” But you can only protect your roster so far when the lure of a higher NIL collective reigns supreme. And for a program like Notre Dame who went ahead and streamed their spring game nationally? Collateral damage is guaranteed.

Few voices have been as candid as recruiting analyst Brian Smith on The Portal Podcast, where he broke down the mechanics of this growing issue with recruiting insider John Garcia. “Notre Dame was one of the very few teams that actually had their game on television—I know it was on Peacock, whatever, but it was still televised,” Smith explained. “I’ve had coaches tell me to my face that their school is not having it because they don’t want film of their players that are coming up the ranks to get swiped out of the board.” The concern isn’t just visibility—it’s recruitment via surveillance. “I asked, ‘What’s going on, why you guys not on TV?’ Less than one second later the answer was almost out—like boom, there was no hesitation.”

Smith didn’t stop there, zeroing in on Notre Dame’s QB room. “CJ Carr is going to be the guy,” he stated definitively. “Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey are guys that are talented—I’m just using them as a barometer—100% guarantee you they’re getting tampered with.” This isn’t speculation. It’s an informed observation from someone entrenched in the talent ecosystem. Realistically, the writing’s actually almost on the wall. As per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, Angeli (who served as a backup quarterback to Riley Leonard last season) is reported to be entering the transfer portal. But how is Smith so sure of the tampering? He revealed it with blunt realism. “How many guys jumped in the portal that opened hours ago as we record this, and they’ve already signed and sealed and delivered to their new school?…These deals, quite literally, are done ahead of time,” he said, before adding:

“You don’t jump in the portal as a legitimate prospect without some type of plan going forward.” The web, interestingly, turns out to be more intricate than we thought. It’s the modern version of backdoor recruiting—done through intermediaries. “You use your trainers, your high school coaches, your family—the people who the NCAA rules do not intersect with—to communicate with additional programs, boosters, whoever is needed to feel comfortable about making a very big and public move like jumping in the transfer portal,” Garcia explained.

“It’s sort of a necessary evil… It’s the new duffel bag full of cash or whatever you want to call it,” the insider revealed. The logistics of these hush-hush communications allow teams to orchestrate transfers well before the portal even opens, giving the illusion of spontaneous moves that were, in reality, weeks in the making. So where does that leave Marcus Freeman? Squarely in the fire. After all, Notre Dame doesn’t just have depth—they have legitimate future starters.

Marcus Freeman’s challenge is as emotional as it is strategic. “And as much of that is an awesome situation, it’s a difficult one, too,” he said when asked about balancing quarterback reps. “Ultimately, as we get ready for Miami, Florida, we can only have one being the starter. We have time to figure out who that guy is gonna be.” There’s honesty in his tone, but also a hint of resignation—he knows someone may walk.

They also know that if one of Angeli, Minchey, or Carr decides to leave, they won’t just disappear. They’ll thrive elsewhere. “If one of the three signal-callers does decide to enter the portal, they’ll land on their feet.” That’s the harsh paradox in the NIL era: the better you recruit and develop, the more likely it is someone else will cash in on your work.

Notre Dame may be a cathedral of tradition, but the transfer portal doesn’t care about gold helmets or Touchdown Jesus. It only sees talent—and the right dollar figure to go with it.

Marcus Freeman thinks transferring is too easy

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman isn’t holding back when it comes to the state of the transfer portal. With the 10-day spring window set to open Wednesday, Freeman jumped on the “See Ball Get Ball” podcast with David Pollack and shared some real talk about what’s bugging him.

He’s not against the portal altogether—far from it. Freeman actually sees the value in it for the right reasons: “There are reasons to have the transfer portal and for guys to transfer,” he said. “When you have a new coaching staff, or you want to find a better opportunity to play, or you’ve got your degree… there’s a lot of pros.” But—and here’s the kicker—he’s got beef with how easy it’s become. “I think right now there’s such ease to transfer when things aren’t going your way,” Freeman said. “That’s where it goes against what I believe college football is for.”

His bottom line? CFB is supposed to “help young people continuously be self-sufficient when they’re done.” Not just offer a get-out-of-jail-free card when things get tough. With big talks heating up about revenue sharing and direct school-player deals, Freeman’s comments might just be the start of a louder conversation.