Marcus Freeman Is Embracing Recruiting At Notre Dame
If you listen to head coach Brian Kelly talk about recruiting at Notre Dame, more often than not you'll hear about all the reasons he thinks it's hard to recruit to his program.
What I have found interesting over the last four years is how often you hear newly hired coaches talk about how much they enjoy recruiting at Notre Dame. Former coordinators Chip Long and Mike Elko thrived as recruiters, and Long talked about the opportunities Notre Dame presented him as a recruiter.
Newly hired defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman said the same things during his first media opportunity, and he's backed it up with action.
"When you're recruiting at Notre Dame it's unique in terms you can get every player in the country to answer your phone call, or every player in the country to return your call, because they respect the brand," Freeman said on National Signing Day. "They respect the University of Notre Dame, so it's been unique in that way."
Freeman went right to work, throwing out offers to many of the nation's top defensive players, and in less than two weeks on the job Notre Dame already had a commitment from Tyson Ford, a Top 100 recruit from St. Louis and one of the best power ends in the country. Ford talked at length about the impact Freeman had in his decision.
Notre Dame also just landed talented defensive end Aiden Gobaira, surging past perceived leader Penn State to land his pledge.
Notre Dame has also put itself in strong position with many other top defenders, including California linebacker Niuafu Tuihalamaka, a consensus Top 100 recruit who de-committed from USC just days after getting an offer from Freeman and the Irish.
Freeman's success as a defensive coordinator and his personality are obviously selling points, but so is the Notre Dame brand, which he is not tamping down, but building up.
"We have such a unique brand and a program to sell in terms of the things I've been telling recruits is that everything you want in any program, it's all for you, you can achieve here plus more," Freeman explained. "You've got a chance to win a national championship. You look at what Coach Kelly and this football program has done over the past five years has been unbelievable, to be in the College Football Playoff two out of the past three years, there's not many teams that can say that.”
Freeman went through the process himself just under two decades ago when he was a top recruit that picked Ohio State. He has proven himself as an outstanding coach, evaluator, recruiter and mentor at Cincinnati, and now that he has the Notre Dame brand behind him there is and should be a great deal of excitement about what he could do on the recruiting trail with guys like Mike Elston, Mike Mickens and now Chris O'Leary on staff.
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