Current Notre Dame head coach and former Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman is beginning to show his inexperience before he even coaches his first game on the sidelines.
If you are on this free Buckeye homer website, you are probably already aware that Freeman took a jab at his alma mater by alluding to making a mistake by choosing OSU over the Fighting Irish as a player. He later walked those comments back a wee bit, but it was a curious move for a guy that seems to have a lot of connections and relationships on the banks of the Olentangy.
Well, lesson not learned apparently.
Freeman once again fired a shot across the bow in an interview with CBS Sports, basically lobbing a virtual hand grenade at Ohio State’s academics. It’s the same institution he received his degree from in 2007.
“I’m not saying from top to bottom, but the majority of our kids, they — I want to say this the right way — are pushed to learn and their study habits are formulated every day. You can’t cheat academics at Notre Dame.”
To make his point, Freeman brought up the two most significant football stops in this career before coming to Notre Dame in 2021. At Ohio State, Freeman played defensive back for Tressel, eventually becoming a fifth-round NFL Draft choice of the Chicago Bears. At Cincinnati, he earned a reputation as one of the nation’s best defensive coordinators.
“You don’t go to class [at places like that]?” Freeman said rhetorically. “OK, take some online classes, show up for your appointments. At Notre Dame, you’re forced every day to go to class.”
OK?
You’d like to think that there’s a purpose behind this, but we have to remember that Freeman isn’t used to being in the spotlight so much. Surely, there is no argument against Notre Dame’s academic standards being higher than Ohio State’s — that’s not debatable. But there’s simply nothing to gain with throwing shade at the school that provided a lot of opportunity for you both on and off the field, especially when your squad is set to play that monster of a program in their home stadium as the first game of the season.
Also, many former players and the like have come out to refute Freeman’s jab at players attending online courses at Ohio State (though we are indeed in the 21st century, so …)
If somehow, Freeman finds a way to direct his team to a victory in the ‘Shoe on September 3, he’ll look like a genius, but I’m not sure he expected to get so much blowback on comments he’s made without thinking first. Hopefully, for Irish fans, his judgment on the field is better than what he’s shown so far in the media.
Queue up the homemade signs and vitriol from the OSU fanbase when Freeman “comes home” in the fall.
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