You are only looking at how much ND increased transfer

influx. You are not looking at how much other schools have increased transfer influx. Other schools are bringing in more kids than ND is to fill gaps. And ND has challenges compared to those schools to be able to fill in the slots that are opening up. ND will likely bring in larger freshman classes compared to those schools as a result, which will put an onus on development and retention--the latter part being more difficult these days.

I'm not saying that bag men never happened. But there's little reason to think that was a greater structural challenge than it was in the 80s. It was largely a bogeyman for people who refused to hold the head coach accountable for working harder at recruiting.