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Notre Dame Football

Freeman "Extremely Pleased" With Rees, Notre Dame Offensive Development

September 5, 2022
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Marcus Freeman was a coordinator a whole lot longer than he’s been a head coach, so he understands what it’s like to hear the gameplan from the boss sometimes.

“It can’t be easy being an offensive coordinator and the head coach comes and says, ‘Hey, we’ve got to limit their possessions. We’re going to have to huddle. I don’t want to snap the ball sometimes until 5 seconds on the clock,’” Freeman said during his weekly press conference on Monday.

That was precisely the gameplan Freeman delivered to Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees leading up to Notre Dame’s season-opener against Ohio State on Saturday night.

“It can’t be easy to do that at times, but he’s a team player and he believed that’s what it takes for us to have success against team like Ohio State,” Freeman continued. “So, he didn’t bat an eye.

“It shows you what type of teammate he is, what type of leader he is. He’s done a great job, obviously for our offensive unit, but also for our coaching staff.”

Having played the position and played the position at Notre Dame, means the quarterbacks can trust Rees knows what he’s talking about, according to Freeman.

“I think it brings instant credibility to everything he said,” the coach said. “When Coach Rees talks about what it’s like playing in Notre Dame Stadium, when Coach Rees talks about what it’s like to play in big games, Coach Rees can talk about what it’s like to hit some adversity, Coach Rees has gone through a lot of adversity.

“When he can use his personal examples to make sure he implements a point for those quarterbacks, I think it gives it instant credibility.”

The Irish only scored 10 points against the Buckeyes and none in the second half, but the game plan going in was to control the ball as much as possible to shorten the game and limit Ohio State’s possessions.

Freeman repeatedly talked about how proud he was of the offensive line, quarterback Tyler Buchner’s performance and the offense as a whole.

“As I said when I was hired, the most important thing to do was try to keep Tommy Rees as our offensive coordinator. I’ve been extremely pleased with how he’s led our offense to growth since I’ve been named head coach.”

 
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