Acquiring good players in the portal who have the academics to make it into Notre Dame is one part of the equation. Notre Dame is a unique place. It isn't for everyone. Ensuring these players are a good culture and locker room fit in South Bend is the second aspect of this dynamic.

Notre Dame beating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals is a program-defining result.

It's taken decades of near misses and maybes, but the narrative on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is finally changing. For the last 30 years of football, the book on the Irish has been the same: Notre Dame is good,