Marcus Freeman: "Too late" for Notre Dame to add players who get fifth year of eligibility

Some college programs are waiting for a chance to pounce on current NFL players who may end up finagling another year of college football. Notre Dame is not.

Via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN, Irish coach Marcus Freeman said Friday that it's "too late" to add players. Freeman cited the admissions process and the academic calendar in support of the position that the time has passed for thinking about plucking late arrivals to the transfer portal.

Freeman was specifically asked about defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka. He made seven starts in four seasons for Notre Dame. He's one of the players who won a temporary restraining order earlier this week, granting them another season of eligibility.

"For us at Notre Dame, it's just too late [with] the graduate admissions process, and I don't think it would put a person in a good situation this late — school starts on Monday — to have success in the classroom and on the field, so that's been our stance on it," Freeman said. "Our admissions has already done their admissions and cycles. That's where the university and the athletic program stands right now."

It's refreshing, and borderline quaint, to hear a college football coach talk about admissions and academics. For most college programs, that ship sailed a long time ago.

Really, when was the last time there was any issue about a college football player being academically ineligible? All schools have cracked the code in that regard, to the point that it's a national nothing burger.

But if there were players Notre Dame truly wanted to add from the universe of potential fifth-year options, they'd surely find a way to expedite the process and get them in the fold and on the field.