Notre Dame football hired a defensive coordinator on Friday night when they announced the hiring of Marcus Freeman.
Freeman brings an impressive resume to the table, having accomplished more than most have done, all before his 35th birthday (which arrives on Sunday).
So who did Notre Dame just hire as their new defensive coordinator?
Here are 10 quick facts about Marcus Freeman:
1 out of 10: Mega high school star in Ohio
Freeman (No. 1 blank) tackles the spring 2006 game in Ohio. Photo by Matt Sullivan / Getty Images)
Marcus Freeman was one of the best candidates leaving the state of Ohio in 2004. He was an All-American at the Wayne High School Parade in Huber Heights, Ohio, where he twice held the All-Ohio title twice.
2 out of 10: Ohio State Line Support Star
Credit: Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports Photo Copyright (c) 2006 Byron Hetzler
In his four years in Ohio from 2005-2008, Freeman played 51 games for the Buckeyes, starting with 37 of them. He finished in the top twenty in all tackle times in Ohio state history, ending with 268 in his career.
Freeman also added 21.5 loss tackles, six sacks, 15 pass breaks, an inteception and a pair of forced fumbles like Buckeye.
3 out of 10: Bowl history as a player
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Freeman was part of major Ohio State teams that twice went to the BCS National Championship Game and twice to the Fiesta Bowl during his playing career.
2006 Fiesta Bowl: 34-20 win over Notre Dame
BCS National Championship 2007: 41-14 defeat against Florida
BCS National Championship 2008: 38-24 loss vs. LSU
2009 Fiesta Bowl: 24-21 defeat against Texas
4 of 10: Selection of the 2009 NFL draft
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Marcus Freeman was a fifth round selection (154 in total) of the Chicago Bears in the 2009 NFL draft, but was released after the final preseason game of that season.
5 out of 10: Other NFL stops, no game action
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After being released by the Chicago Bears, Freeman made stops with the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans as a member of his training teams, but never played an NFL game in the regular season, retiring because of a heart condition.
6 out of 10: Return to Ohio
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After seeing his NFL career cut short, Freeman returned to Ohio State as a graduate assistant for the 2010 Buckeyes, who were coached by Jim Tressel. This Buckeyes team went 12-1 with a season-ending win over Arkansas at the Sugar Bowl.
7 out of 10: between Ohio and Cincinnati
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Before arriving in Cincinnati as a defensive coordinator, Freeman trained linebackers in Akron in 2011 and 2012 before taking over as linebacker trainer in Purdue, a position he held in 2013-2016.
While in Purdue, Freeman trained future NFL linebackers Ja’Whwan Bentley and Danny Ezechukwu.
8 out of 10: Success in Cincinnati
Photo courtesy of the Enquirer / Tom Gro
After fighting for a 4-8 season in 2016, Cincinnati has shot the past three years with Freeman as a defensive coordinator. Bearcats coach Luke Fickell hired Freeman on his first team and the two combined helped the team create a 31-6 record in the past three seasons, with Freeman’s defense acting as one of the country’s best defensive units.
In 2020, Cincinnati’s defense ranked in the Top 20 nationally in several categories for 2020-21, including 13th position in total defense (324.6 yards per game) and eighth in scoring defense (16.8 points per game) among all FBS teams. In addition, the Bearcats were third in defense of the team’s passing efficiency (101.25), 14th in fast defense (111.1 yards per game), 15th in the red zone (0.735 rate), 17th in the fourth down (0.375 rate ), 16th in the bags team (3.0 per game) and 10th in earned turnover (21).
9 out of 10: Broyles Award Finalist
Freeman was a finalist for the Broyles Award last season, which annually goes to the country’s best assistant coach. He ended up going to Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, but getting that kind of recognition as an assistant coach in Cincinnati says a lot about the respect he has earned in his eleven years of training.
10 out of 10: Notre Dame defeated LSU
Photo courtesy: Kareem Elgazzar / The Enquirer
When you have a resume as impressive as Freeman’s, you will be in high demand. That was the case, as LSU was looking for his services after interviewing him on Thursday.
Freeman’s hiring deserves all the praise he’s getting, as Brian Kelly hired Mike Elko, Clark Lea and Marcus Freeman as his last three defensive coordinator hires, all far removed from Brian VanGorder’s days.