2028 WR Deandre Bidden Feeling Personal Touch From Freeman, Notre Dame

Marcus Freeman has made himself a regular presence in Deandre Bidden's recruitment and that matters to the 2028 Michigan wide receiver.

Bidden talks with Freeman every time he speaks with the Notre Dame staff, and Monday was no different, when he spoke with Freeman, wide receivers coach Mike Brown and other members of the staff.

"That's my guy, man," Bidden told Irish Sports Daily of Freeman. 

"Knowing the head coach likes me, building a relationship with that guy is great because that guy is a great coach."

The staff has been impressed with Bidden’s film this season and got a chance to see him in person during the bye week. The coaches are also hoping he can get back to South Bend for next week’s game against Miami.

Notre Dame has been recruiting Bidden as more than a traditional receiver for months. Brown and running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider have pitched a versatile role that would move him around the offense, a vision Bidden described earlier.

"Come be the next Jeremiyah Love, but at receiver," Bidden said of the Irish message over the summer. "They can do everything with me."

The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder holds offers from Alabama, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas among others.

At one point, Notre Dame appeared to be a longshot for the Harper Woods standout, but Bidden's spring visit and his return for the Michigan State game changed the feel of it, and the contact has only intensified since.

"Them guys are my guys, so they're always talking to me in a heavy tone," he said. 

Bidden hopes to be back for next week’s showdown, but that will depend on whether Harper Woods has a playoff game that Saturday.

He knows what he’s hoping to see if he can make it.

"Some explosive plays and them beating Miami for sure because Miami is going kind of crazy right now," Bidden said.

In addition to his earlier trip to South Bend, Bidden has also visited Tennessee and Michigan, but doesn’t have any others planned at the moment.

He plans to start narrowing his list going into next year, take official visits in the spring and decide after that. Relationships, development, what a school can offer him after college and what it can do for him in the classroom will matter most when he does.

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