Demands Remain, But Freeman’s Grasp Grows On Irish Program

By John Brice
Special Contributor

A year ago, sleep wasn’t an option for Marcus Freeman.

Days on the job as Notre Dame’s charismatic new head football coach, Freeman was charged with keeping stitched together a recruiting class that could have fractured – like so many others around the country already had – when the Fighting Irish program had change at the captain’s wheel.

Freeman, however, doubled down and most every single member of the Irish coaching staff rallied around the program, the players and its new head coach to not only keep Notre Dame’s 2022 signing class virtually intact; they even added some crucial pieces, including Northwestern transfer safety and former All-American Brandon Joseph.

So, naturally, 2023 must be a bit more relaxing for Freeman, right?

Not so much. Some 52 weeks into the daunting task of elevating Notre Dame back on a path for its first national championship since 1988, in the indefatigable Freeman is taking nothing for granted.

He’s armed, however, with a much greater depth of knowledge about the Irish roster – in its present form, and what it needs to advance to be on par with the skill-laden, talent-rich rosters of current and future foes Ohio State and Southern Cal, among others.

“More knowledge; still a whirlwind,” Freeman said Saturday inside Notre Dame Stadium, following the Irish’s third practice in advance of their Dec. 30 Gator Bowl clash opposite South Carolina. “Been all over the country, and I don’t think that ever stops, but this year, you have relationships with these guys, you have been recruiting them for over a year.

“You’re getting to the homes of guys you have relationships with and you know their families. Last year I was trying to get to know all those offensive guys. I knew a lot of defensive guys, but to get to the homes of the offensive guys, it was the first time meeting a lot of them and so completely different visit this year than last year. But the craziness, the busyness of this schedule, that won’t change.”

Though Freeman eschews the player’s coach label, he is undoubtedly a relational leader. His tactic of shaking hands with every player, not just his defensive charges, on the practice shortly after arriving at Notre Dame continues to resonate with his current players.

It’s that approach, along with his ongoing proclamation that among his chief responsibilities is to set the example in perpetuity as the program’s leader recruiter, helping Freeman work with his staff to close out a consensus top-3 ranked national recruiting class.

Freeman’s first full class also comes at a time with no precedent in the history of the sport; in addition to the evolving Name, Image and Likeness governance now allowing student-athletes to profit from their personal brands and images, college athletics’ ongoing NCAA Transfer Portal remains a nebulous de facto free agency.

“You’re always monitoring the portal,” said Freeman, whose debut campaign saw the former nationally renowned defensive coordinator navigate beyond a 1-2 start to notch wins against ranked foes Clemson, North Carolina and Syracuse. “It’s a new part of college football. I don’t know the exact numbers, but obviously, starting (last) Monday, the numbers continue to increase on people entering the portal. We’ve had guys on our team into the portal and so that’s going to be a part of roster enhancement.

“It’s the ability to look into the portal and really investigate and not just say, OK, this guy is coming from this school, let’s go after him. It’s really trying to make those calls in research. You do a lot of research on his high school kids. You recruit them, you evaluate them, you talk to people for a lengthy period of time. These guys get into the portal, it’s a quick turnaround in terms of, are they the right fit for this program or not. A lot of time has been spent on just looking – is there a person  in the portal that’s going to enhance our roster in the right way?”

Meanwhile, Freeman is balancing this roster management with preparations for his second bowl game as the Irish’s head coach.

Nothing about the team’s focus is changing, he said.

“Last year, that was the thing we were talking about all the time — was finishing as champions,” Freeman said. “But as I told our team this morning is that we have to respect this opportunity and that means respecting your opponent. It’s a great opponent we have coming up on December 30th.

“You respect them in terms of the way you prepare and the way you practice and you study film and you take care of your bodies. All those things are important in terms of respecting your opponent and then understand the opportunity we have to play in this Gator Bowl to play against a great opponent and to continue to uphold the standards that have been said before us.”