Embracing Notre Dame Is Easy For Marcus Freeman
ISD had the opportunity to sit down with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman earlier this week as the Fighting Irish prepare to enter a crucial year that starts in Dublin, Ireland.
What stood out in our conversation?
Freeman is comfortable. 2022 was a whirlwind for Freeman and everyone following the program as he was thrown to the wolves by coaching the Fiesta Bowl after taking over the program less than a month earlier. Then Ohio State, Freeman’s alma mater, was staring at the program in week one.
Fast forward to June 2023, Freeman has had time to experience what simply being a head coach takes, but also find his comfort zones in The Gug, on the field and within the university.
Freeman has chosen to make himself a visible figure at Notre Dame. He’s spoken at several events for the student body, participated in several community events and set a high bar for speaking engagements at Notre Dame Clubs in the first two springs he’s been the head coach. Oh, and don’t forget about that White House trip with his mother for the State Dinner to celebrate the 70-year alliance between the US and South Korea.
He has also made sure to make his presence felt within Notre Dame athletics by supporting multiple other programs. Most notably, Freeman made trips to Philly to watch Notre Dame lacrosse win a national title, but he also flew to North Carolina to support the women’s basketball team earlier this spring. Freeman and his football team also headed straight from spring practice to the lacrosse field in freezing temperatures to show their support for Kevin Corrigan’s squad. And even his appearances at Notre Dame hockey games turned into national stories.
Of course, some of Freeman’s appearances are by design, but much of it is due to him embracing Notre Dame and simply wanting to show it.
“I love this university,” explained Freeman. “I love to see our sports have success. I believe everybody wins. Not just lacrosse won that National Championship, but it brought a positive light to our university and to our athletic programs with them having success. I love to see the success here at the University of Notre Dame. It’s small enough where we become a community. We all become supporters of each other.”
The comfort at Notre Dame has allowed Freeman to also dive into learning more and more about what the university can offer his players and recruits. Recruiting is selling and showing, which Freeman has figured out.
“Selling is about figuring out what the customer wants, right,” stated Freeman. “You have to be able to sell based on the needs of the people you’re recruiting. Do I know every intricate detail of Notre Dame? I won’t be here long enough to know that. There is so much that goes into making this place successful.
There is no way one can ever learn everything about Notre Dame, but Freeman has a firm grasp and showing recruits how they can achieve their future goals has become a key piece to his message.
“Obviously, I have a deep passion for what this university provides young people,” Freeman said. “A lot of those things aren’t in the present. It’s being able to show them their future and show them the success they can have beyond the things they can see.
“I feel really confident and I’m passionate in selling this place. I truly believe it can change the outlook of someone’s future.”
It’s the same message we hear from recruits all the time when they talk about their conversations with Freeman. 4 for 40, future, degree, set you up for life are all words or phrases put into their minds and that’s the goal.
2026 St. John Bosco (Calif.) receiver Madden Williams is just beginning his recruitment and made his way to campus this week after being offered earlier this spring.
Freeman wasn’t trying to close on an early commitment, but rather he was setting a tone as his message centered around helping Williams think big picture when he takes future visits to schools.
“His message was about when I’m looking at all these schools, I need to make sure that I’m asking them for my career plan and not just how they are going to help me in football,” Williams explained. “How are they going to set me up for life and how I would be a man in the world or get a job and start a family? Football isn’t going to last forever, but life will.”
The thought process will hit home with those players who can handle the aggressive academics and schedule of Notre Dame. Will it resonate with every kid? No, especially in NIL era, but Freeman and his staff also aren’t backing down from the challenge.
“They have to understand the percentages of them making the NFL are not great,” Freeman explained. “I think less than five percent. If they make it to the NFL, the average is less than four years. The degree matters. I want to make sure we protect young people so they don’t make decisions to go to school based on some unforeseen NIL opportunities that might not be there.”
Time will tell if Freeman’s message will lead to national titles, but in the end, he’s bringing realistic expectations to the table and not false promises.
“You don’t know what’s real or what’s not,” said Freeman. “Do we know there are million-dollar contracts out there? That’s what we hear. We see don't know what’s real or what’s not. That’s the thing to me around this NIL discussion, it’s a lot of hearsay.”
Q/A | Notre Dame Football Head Coach Marcus Freeman Part I
Q/A | Notre Dame Football Head Coach Marcus Freeman Part II
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