The Former Star Marcus Freeman Would Hypothetically Add to Notre Dame in 2025

Notre Dame football has had countless superstars over the years. The university boasts Heisman Trophy winners, more College Football Hall of Famers than any other program, and has had more players drafted into the NFL than any other.

So hypothetically picking one to add to the 2025 Notre Dame roster isn't an easy choice, but one Fighting Irish head coach was asked to do recently.

The Former Notre Dame Star Marcus Freeman Would Add to 2025 Irish

Marcus Freeman did a sit-down interview with Jackson Neill of WNDU-TV in South Bend and was asked if he could add one former Notre Dame player to this year's team, who that player would be.

The answer wasn't Joe Montana, Ross Browner, or one of the several other obvious guesses. Instead, Freeman went with 1988 national champion and former Lombardi Award winner, Chris Zorich.

"I think of Chris Zorich," Freeman said, "I think of the toughness he brings, like he never lacked toughness."

"The way he would raise the level of practice," Freeman added, before mentioning other former Notre Dame stars such as Montana, Tim Brown, Manti Te'o, and Riley Leonard. See Freeman's full response to the question below.

Words cannot express the EXCITEMENT I felt when @NDFootball Coach Marcus Freeman was asked, “If you could pick ONE PLAYER from ND’s HISTORY to be on this year’s team?” by @jacksonneilltv of @16NewsNow

His TOUGHNESS…..

Raising the level of PRACTICE…

“Put me in Coach!!!”… pic.twitter.com/xiG0moaIxn
— Christopher Zorich, JD (@chris_zorich) September 9, 2025

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thought:

Freeman answered the question extremely well and provided reasons for selecting Zorich that anyone would support. Zorich's general care for the team and intense practice routine were certainly factors in Notre Dame winning the national championship in 1988, but my head immediately went somewhere else.

Interviews like this, conducted by Freeman, are generally taped before the season, and we're seeing this small snippet now. As much as Freeman paints the picture of it being Zorich's leadership that could be used, is Notre Dame's head coach crying for help?

Is Freeman going with the former star defensive tackle not only because of the reasons he gave, but also because it appears to be a position of need for this season's Fighting Irish squad? I'm not saying that's for certain the case, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the first thing that crossed my mind while watching.

As for who I would add?

What would happen if Riley Leonard were on this roster for another year? I'm not saying that as a knock on CJ Carr. Instead, you get a second year of Leonard working with Mike Denbrock's offense and so much of last year's absurd run game returning, I can't help but think Notre Dame is the favorite to win the national championship right now.