‘Little Animal,’ Jim Tressel, Troy Smith: What Ohio State life was like for Marcus Freeman

Arranging Marcus Freeman’s Ohio State linebacker days under a looking glass reveals just how steeped he is in the program he will try to deprive of a national championship.

Freeman — head coach the Notre Dame team gearing up for a Monday showdown against the Buckeyes — played with and against assorted Stark County players and national names after going from Anthony Wayne High School, near Dayton, to Ohio State.

Ohio State fans recall James “Little Animal” Laurinaitis as an iconic Buckeye linebacker in the tradition of Randy Gradishar, Chris Spielman and A.J. Hawk. You might be surprised to learn the top two in tackles in three straight Buckeye seasons (2006, 2007 and 2008) were Laurinaitis, first, and Freeman, second.

James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman as teammates at Ohio State in 2007.

Freeman is connected to three of the six Ohio State-Notre Dame games played in the last 88 years.

He was a member of the 2005 Ohio State team that beat Notre Dame 34-20 in the Fiesta Bowl. He was Notre Dame’s head coach when the Fighting Irish lost to the Buckeyes 21-10 in 2022 and 17-14 in 2023.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman reacts during the first half against Penn State in the Orange Bowl, Jan. 9, 2025, in Miami Gardens.

A quick look at the Buckeye landscape in Freeman’s three seasons as a starter:

2006: In a 12-0 regular season, Ohio State was ranked No. 1 wire-to-wire behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith. Northern Illinois, the team that shocked Freeman’s 2024 Fighting Irish in Game 2, lost to the Buckeyes 35-12 in the 2006 opener. Head coach Jim Tressel’s team took down No. 2 Texas 24-7 in Game 2. The regular-season finale brought a 42-39 conquest of No. 2 Michigan. Florida, which supplanted Michigan at No. 2, routed the Buckeyes 41-12 in the BCS Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona. Gators…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/little-animal-jim-tressel-troy-110954175.html

Author : The Repository

Publish date : 2025-01-16 11:09:00

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