Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame is on high alert, as his former four-star recruit is back in the portal. The former Fighting Irish star, who suffered a career-ending injury, announced himself to the transfer portal after winning the Sun Belt Championship with James Madison.

According to On3’s Pete Nakos report, James Madison standout EDGE Aiden Gobaira has plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal after his lone season with the Dukes. Gobaira is a former Notre Dame transfer who was forced to medically retire from playing football after suffering a knee injury in the 2023 fall camp.

He transferred to James Madison last season after recovering from a torn ACL. He totaled 38 tackles and 4 sacks this season for the Dukes and was part of the Sun Belt Championship-winning side. He was also a part of JMU’s first-ever playoff team.

Graduating from Chantilly High School, Gobaira was the 17th nationally ranked edge rusher of the 2022 class and the sixth highest overall recruit from Virginia. The 6-foot-5 DL received multiple offers from the powerhouse schools, such as Virginia Tech, Penn State, Nebraska, and Louisville. However, Gobaira’s interest was with the fourth-winningest team in college football history, the Fighting Irish.

The four-star recruit redshirted his freshman season and was injured during the spring practice the following year. He tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus, which almost ended his football career.

“I decided to medically retire so Notre Dame had more availability,” Gobaira said.

Despite medical retirement, he worked on his rehab and traditional football training before heading to JMU via the transfer portal in 2024. Gobaira, after two seasons, played his first game at the collegiate level at James Madison in 2025 and posted 38 total tackles (18 solo) and four sacks. His best performances came against Texas State and Coastal Carolina, where he contributed six and four solo tackles. Both games were crucial for the Dukes’ 2025 season.

As Marcus Freeman’s four-star recruit is back in the market, healthier than ever, it would be interesting to see if the Fighting Irish are still interested in him.

UCLA could be Aiden Gobaira’s next home

After a highly successful run at James Madison, HC Bob Chesney and DC Colin Hitschler took over the UCLA job. Both played a big role in bringing Aiden Gobaira to James Madison via the transfer portal, despite major injury concerns. Since two important coaches of his first collegiate season are at the Bruins, Gobaira could follow them to Los Angeles.

After bringing Gobaira to JMU via the portal, Hitschler trusted his abilities despite injury and being benched for the first two seasons. He trained him and made him play for James Madison, which turned out well.

“He’s physical. He runs to the ball,” Hitschler said. “I think he just had some bad luck up at Notre Dame. He’s set for a big year, and I can’t wait to watch him ball out. Aiden played for an elite group, and I’ve worked with some of them at Cincinnati; every single one of them called me when they found out I was coming here and he was coming here and said how special a kid he is.”

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It would be interesting to watch where the former four-star recruit will head, with Notre Dame, UCLA, and other programs looking for a high-class defensive end, when the portal window opens on January 2.