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Marcus Freeman: I thank God that I didn’t make the wrong decision twice on Notre Dame

chris pugh, the columbus dispatch
·3 min read

In an article that ran Tuesday on The Players Tribune website, new Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman wrote that if he had to do it over again, he would have picked Notre Dame to play college football.

"I visited this university for the first time when I was about 16 or 17 years old and was recruited to play here," he wrote in the article. "I had a choice to make, and in the end what it came down to was Ohio State or Notre Dame. And I chose Ohio State. I loved Tyrone Willingham. I thought he was a great coach, and to be honest, he reminded me a bit of my father.

"Fast-forward to last year, and you might have heard that I was being considered for a couple of coaching jobs. During that time, me and my wife, Joanna, took a trip down to Louisiana and then up here to South Bend — and when we got back home, it was another tough decision. I can’t tell you exactly what it was that told us to come to Notre Dame, but there was something. We all know there’s something different about Notre Dame. We all know it’s something special. And I just thank God that I didn’t make the wrong decision twice."

Freeman was hired by Notre Dame as head coach on Dec. 3 after Brian Kelly was hired at LSU.

Freeman is the second Black head coach in school history following Tyrone Willingham, who was the head coach at Notre Dame from 2002-2004 and is now serving on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.

Marcus Freeman during a press conference announcing Marcus Freeman as the new Notre Dame head football coach Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 at the Irish Athletic Center in South Bend.
Marcus Freeman during a press conference announcing Marcus Freeman as the new Notre Dame head football coach Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 at the Irish Athletic Center in South Bend.

Here's what we know about Freeman.

Marcus Freeman is an Ohio native

Freeman was born on Jan. 10, 1986, in Huber Heights, Ohio.

Marcus Freeman starred in high school

As a high school senior, Freeman was named to the Parade All-America team from Wayne High School and was one of the top three prospects coming out of Ohio.

FILE - Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman is shown during the Blue-Gold NCAA spring football game in South Bend, Ind., in this Saturday, May 1, 2021, file photo. Marcus Freeman believes the best thing he can do as Notre Dame’s new defensive coordinator is to get out of the way of his players. “This is theirs. They built this. I’m the new guy,” said the 35-year-old Freeman, who seven months ago was picked by coach Brian Kelly to replace Clark Lea after Notre Dame finished 10-2 and ranked No. 5. (AP Photo/Robert Franklin, File)

Marcus Freeman started at Ohio State for several years

Freeman played for the Buckeyes from 2004-2008 and started 37 games at linebacker.

He finished his career with 268 tackles and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection his senior season.

Marcus Freeman played for three teams during his NFL career

Freeman was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 2009 NFL Draft.

He also played for the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans.

Freeman retired in 2010 due to an enlarged heart condition.

Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman walks in for a press conference Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 at the Irish Athletic Center in South bend.
Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman walks in for a press conference Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 at the Irish Athletic Center in South bend.

Marcus Freeman's coaching career before he came to Cincinnati

Freeman started his coaching career as the linebackers and assistant coach for Kent State in 2011 before moving to Purdue, where he served as the linebackers coach in 2013 and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2016.

Marcus Freeman was one of the first hires in Cincinnati by Luke Fickell

Freeman was hired by the Bearcats on Dec. 13, 2016.His defense led the AAC in scoring defense in the 2018 and 2019 seasons and was a finalist for the Broyles Award and was named the 247Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year during the 2020 season.

Joe Harrington contributed to this story.

Chris Pugh can be reached via email at clpugh@gannett.com and on Twitter at @ChrisPughEdits.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Notre Dame football or OSU? Marcus Freeman looks back