Marcus Freeman: 'Notre Dame's positioned to thrive'
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman made the quick trip to Toledo on Tuesday night to speak at the NFF Scholar Athlete Banquet, which honors athletes, coaches and others connected to football.
Freeman also sat down with local media company BCSN for a one-on-one where he was asked about the ever-evolving world of college football and how Notre Dame’s program is adapting to the NIL and Transfer Portal.
It’s somewhat ironic as former Alabama head coach Nick Saban is on Capitol Hill this week sharing the two hot topics were significant reasons why he retired earlier this year.
College football and even conferences in college athletics have changed multiple times and Freeman is embracing the changes even if it creates a little more work for him.
“You have to look at it with excitement, Freeman stated to BCSN. “The minute you dread it is the minute this game will pass you by. Changes happen. It’s our job to adapt to the change and to see how we can thrive amongst the changes that are happening in college athletics.
“There’s a lot of people trying to figure out what it’s going to take to make sure we still do what’s best for the student-athlete - for making sure we help young people progress throughout the college years. If they have a chance to go professional, great, but if not, there is still a future. It’s my job as the head coach at Notre Dame is to make sure we’re thriving with these changes.”
Freeman also believes Notre Dame is well-aligned off the field to ensure success on Saturdays.
“I think Notre Dame’s positioned to thrive with all the changes right now going in college football with recruiting changes, NIL, Transfer Portal, conference realignment,” Freeman said. “We are well positioned as a football program. Our administration has done such a good job that we’re ready to compete with all these changes.”
As it relates to the Transfer Portal, Freeman didn’t make any groundbreaking statements but rather highlighted what Notre Dame fans have come to expect. The Irish program isn’t building a team around the portal but rather using it to enhance the roster and fill potential gaps.
“We’re always going to minor in the portal. We have very specific needs on our roster we want to address through the Transfer Portal. We cannot major in the Transfer Portal. The foundation and the future of Notre Dame football is still going to be created through high school recruiting. I feel we’ve done a great job of identifying high school talent and now beginning to develop it.
“We will make sure we are always built off high school recruiting and we’ll minor in those specific needs that we have.”
Full Interview here: One-on-One with Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman at NFF Scholar Athlete Banquet
Looking to join a Fighting Irish community and get the latest scoop? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD
Under Armour White Notre Dame Fighting Irish Motivate Half-Zip Top
