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Marcus Freeman during a game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 30, 2024.
Not that long ago, Marcus Freeman bled scarlet and gray.
A linebacker for Ohio State from 2004-08, Freeman appeared in 51 games with 37 starts. He helped the Buckeyes reach the national title game twice and was part of four straight Big Ten championships. When he declared for the NFL Draft in 2009, he ranked 19th in program history with 268 tackles (140 solo).
So when Freeman steps on the sideline ahead of the national championship game Monday night, the Notre Dame coach might feel a bit conflicted. After all, he’s trying to win the biggest trophy in college athletics — and stop his beloved alma mater from doing the same.
Freeman, asked this week about facing the Buckeyes, quickly shot down the notion that his heart lies anywhere but South Bend.
“This has nothing to do with the past and where I went to school,” he said. “This is about this opportunity that lies right ahead of us.”
Freeman, 39, is widely regarded as one of the fastest rising coaches in college football. He has the historic program on the verge of their first championship since 1988 in just his fourth season and now has NFL franchises calling.
But his success at Notre Dame is not a surprise to former Buckeye teammates, who knew from the moment he stepped foot on campus that his work ethic and IQ would take him far.
Antonio Smith, an Ohio State cornerback who played from 2003-06, called Freeman “a great competitor” and a “team guy.”
“Playing the linebacker position, he’s a guy that you can count on, a guy that you can trust to do their job and someone that obviously you wanted to go into battle with week in and week out,” Smith said. “He not only brought that energy and attitude to the game, but also just the way he went about his day to day in practice….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/marcus-freeman-starred-ohio-state-195554640.html
Author : NBC News
Publish date : 2025-01-17 19:55:00
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