Transfer Portal: Former Colorado CB DJ McKinney signs with Notre Dame

DJ McKinney’s transfer portal recruitment has finally come to an end. And the decision is the same as before: Notre Dame.

After earlier confusion, the former Colorado cornerback has finally signed with the Irish, they announced on Instagram. On Friday, On3 college football insider Pete Nakos reported that McKinney had signed with Notre Dame after his name appeared as such in the NCAA transfer portal database. Moments later, however, Nakos reported that McKinney’s signing status with Notre Dame had been removed.

That uncertainty has now been resolved. McKinney is headed to South Bend for his final season of college football. He is expected to add depth at outside cornerback, where the Irish return two seasoned starters in senior Christian Gray and unanimous All-American Leonard Moore. McKinney visited Notre Dame on Thursday.

According to the regularly updated 2026 On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings, McKinney is the No. 279 overall player and the No. 27 cornerback available. He has one year of eligibility remaining after starting his career at Oklahoma State. McKinney transferred for the first time to Colorado ahead of the 2024 season and made an immediate impact.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder earned All-Big 12 coaches honorable mention in 2024. He ranked fourth in the conference with nine pass breakups. As part of his all-conference résumé, he was third on the team with 62 tackles and played the most defensive snaps with 840.

Entering last season, McKinney was a first-team All-Big 12 selection by the media. However, he missed the final three games of the season due to injury. In the nine games he played, he totaled 35 tackles, 27 of them solo, one tackle for loss, one interception and five pass breakups.

A product of Colleyville (Texas) Heritage, McKinney signed with Oklahoma State out of high school and spent two years in Stillwater. During his time with the Cowboys, McKinney appeared in 18 games and had 40 tackles (25 solo) and five pass breakups. He redshirted his freshman year in 2022, which is why he play a fifth season for the Irish in 2025.

In high school, McKinney was a three-star prospect who was the No. 111 player in Texas, No. 75 cornerback nationally and No. 759 overall prospect in the 2022 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He held over a dozen Power Four offers, including ones from Missouri, Vanderbilt and Utah.

His senior year at Colleyville Heritage, McKinney posted 35 tackles, five interceptions, four pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.