Already Marcus Freeman had set the bar too high for himself. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish survives all by itself without the safe shelter of any conference. But Freeman’s program proved themselves by making it to the finals. Even though the National Championship Trophy slipped away, the Notre Dame HC is all set to rise from the ashes. Freeman is not carrying any bitterness in his heart from the loss. Rather, he got tougher and, well, there are already signs. So, the college football teams better be aware!
“You find a lot about your team in the lowest moments. And it’s a group that stayed together, trusted each other…In those toughest times, that’s when you make the major gains.” This was what Freeman said after beating James Franklin’s Penn State with a 24-27 win in the Orange Bowl. That’s how the HC proved his haters wrong after they landed Notre Dame in the hot seat because of their home loss to Northern Illinois. They did promise to “get it fixed” and Freeman kept his word. Even though his wish to be the first African American head coach to win a college football national championship did not come true, 2025 can be a historic year. At least Freeman’s outlook towards the world says so.
On March 23, analyst Tyler Horka shared how he sees the Notre Dame HC coming off as a dominant force. In the caption he wrote about his understanding of ‘Project Marcus Freeman.’ “It’s year four for Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame and he keeps coming across as more comfortable and confident with each practice, press conference, etc. Probably a narrative that should have been put to bed by now but he won’t let it die. Constant growth.” When Freeman is running the race with HCs like Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian, and Kalen DeBoer, who already have the conference limelight on them, it’s difficult to keep up the pace.
It’s year four for Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame and he keeps coming across as more comfortable and confident with each practice, press conference, etc.
Probably a narrative that should have been put to bed by now but he won’t let it die. Constant growth. pic.twitter.com/fuFO9gw9nB
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) March 24, 2025
But Freeman has mastered the art beautifully. As Horka shared, “I just got the vibe from him yesterday of a guy who is way more comfortable and getting to that point with each season, with each day, with each spring practice session.” Now it has to be that way. After all, under their ex-HC Brain Kelly, did not make it to the college football playoff contention. Last year, the Fighting Irish pulled off three-biggest postseason wins in over 30 years and landed a spot in the National Championship game. With this, Freeman is already climbing the ladder. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman released the list of college football’s top 25 coaches. The Notre Dame HC holds the sixth-best coach rank in college football. However, like most of the college football programs, Freeman failed to shield Notre Dame from the lingering issue.
How Marcus Freeman breaks the trend amidst QB battle
That’s the QB battle. The Fighting Irish were left with a major hole to fill after their star quarterback, Riley Leonard, declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. However, these are things that are not under Freeman’s control and they will have to now proceed without Leonard by their side. Already the big trio is stirring the pot after the QB’s departure. They are- Steve Angeli, CJ Carr, and Kenny Minchey who are fighting for the QB1 spot in South Bend.
Going by the latest updates, none of them are willing to leave their ground. However, Notre Dame’s pass game coordinator Gino Guidugli came up with some clarity. Carr has been considered by many to be the dark horse to take over from Leonard. As Freeman’s coach assured, “Yeah, I got no complaints for the guy. Sometimes you worry, because he’s such a competitor that if there was something that was ailing, he’s not gonna necessarily tell you. But when you see the ball come out of his hand, it’s flying out of there.” Amidst all this, Freeman did not follow the trend.
Right now, college football programs are on a spree to cancel their spring games. Matt Rhule has done it, Brian Kelly has done it. Thankfully, that isn’t the case for Marcus Freeman’s program. With Spring practice underway, Freeman shared that the Irish did make the decision to adjust their calendar to adjust to the elongated season that comes from the College Football Playoff. “We will have a Spring Game. It will be a version of a Spring Game…I don’t want to take away from that. There’s a lot of pros and cons for each decision, but that one, to me — my decision of keeping our Spring Game was I want to use this opportunity for our team and our football program to make sure that we are really interacting with our fans.” Proof that Marcus Freeman isn’t second-guessing himself or his team.
The post “Won’t Let It Die”: Marcus Freeman’s Tough Act Sparks Alarm as National Analyst’s Claim Puts CFB Teams on High Alert appeared first on EssentiallySports.
