Latest news with #MarcusFreeman
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Georgia Makes Move for Son of Bulldogs Legend, Current Notre Dame Commit
Georgia Makes Move for Son of Bulldogs Legend, Current Notre Dame Commit originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Head coach Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame Fighting Irish have an impressive 2026 recruiting class, with a total of 16 commitments, and rank No. 4 in the nation, per On3. Advertisement One of the biggest names in that group is linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., who committed to the program on Nov. 12, 2024, and has taken a total of five visits with the Fighting Irish. However, he is still keeping his options open, as Chad Simmons of On3 reported on Friday that Davis Jr. has scheduled an official visit with the Georgia Bulldogs, set to take place on Saturday. This is certainly a huge development, as he's the son of former Georgia defensive back and linebacker Thomas Davis, who spent three seasons (2002-2004) in Athens and was named a consensus All-American in his junior season. Advertisement His time with the Bulldogs helped him create a lengthy 15-year professional career. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 14 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft and made three total Pro Bowls. Now, Davis Jr. is looking to be as successful as his father, as On3 Industry Rankings ranks him as a four-star recruit, the No. 11 linebacker and the No. 184 player in the nation. Weddington High School linebacker Thomas Davis Jr. (left) and Thomas Davis Sr. (right).Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images In his three seasons at the varsity level for Weddington High School, Davis Jr. appeared in 43 games, racking up 185 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, five interceptions, 25 pass deflections and three fumble recoveries. Advertisement If Georgia can flip Davis Jr., he would be a huge addition to a 2026 recruiting class, which already features 10 commitments and ranks No. 2 in the SEC and No. 5 in the nation. Related: Ohio State Predicted to Lose Five-Star Recruit to Big Ten Rival This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman holds no grudge against Steve Angeli
Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman holds no grudge against Steve Angeli Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman holds no grudge against former QB Steve Angeli When Notre Dame begins its quest to return to the College Football Playoff in the season opener at Miami (FL) Labor Day weekend, either redshirt freshman CJ Carr or redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey will be taking the first snap. Steve Angeli saw the writing on the wall this past spring, which is why he decided to become a graduate transfer at Syracuse. And that was totally fine with Marcus Freeman. The Fighting Irish head coach told local media Thursday that he supports Angeli because it was the right decision for the former backup.'Nothing is guaranteed,' Freeman said, 'but Steve made the decision to transfer where there was probably a better opportunity for him to be the starter in the fall. There was a more clear picture. That's why he made that decision. He's graduated, and there's no hard feelings.' Angeli led Notre Dame to a Sun Bowl win over Oregon State to conclude the 2023 season, and he also led a drive that resulted in a key field goal in relief of Riley Leonard in the team's Orange Bowl win over Penn State this past January. In April's Blue-Gold game, Angeli went 8-of-11 passing for 108 yards and was sacked once. He entered the transfer portal thereafter and chose Syracuse, which travels to South Bend on November 22. Minchey and Carr will now compete for the starting job. Angeli, who has two remaining years of eligibility, could face the Irish twice. In addition to the tilt this fall, the Irish visit the JMA Wireless Dome in 2026, but the date of that matchup has yet to be determined.
New York Times
2 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Can Notre Dame take the next step? What Marcus Freeman has learned and what's next
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In almost exactly two months, Notre Dame will open preseason camp with something to defend and something to chase. Because as Marcus Freeman enters his fourth season in charge, Notre Dame's head coach will be both trying to recreate the magic of last season's run to the national championship game and figuring out how the Irish get over that final finish line. Advertisement It will take everything Freeman has learned on the job for the Irish to do either. On Thursday, Freeman met with a small group of reporters to set the stage for summer as Notre Dame balances two competing ideas. The program's 37-year wait since its last national championship is the longest since Knute Rockne won Notre Dame's first 101 years ago. And yet, it feels like the Irish may be as close to ending that barren spell as at any point since Lou Holtz left the building. 'Where am I better? The experience at every situation that has to do with being a head coach,' Freeman said. 'The experience with dealing with (media), the experience with dealing with making high-pressure situation decisions, the experience of two-minute situations, the experience of recruiting. I'm better at every area of being a head coach because of experience where there's no substitution for it, and that's what I have to continue.' Freeman did some professional development this offseason, sounding out Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni on what it took to win a Super Bowl after falling short before, going all the way in his fourth season. Freeman has made NFL connections before, from Mike Tomlin to Sean Payton. But the questions are different when there's a national championship game appearance on your resume. 'If you have a camera on me or you're in my brain 24 hours a day — 'Oh, he's better here.' Why? Because he's done it. He's experienced, he's more confident in it,' Freeman said. 'He's been there, but there's just not one area where I can point out and say, 'Hey, I'm better here than every other place.' I hope I'm better in every area and every aspect of being a head coach.' Two months from now, Freeman will need to start to show that on the practice field. Three months from now, the curtain will go up at Hard Rock Stadium against Miami. Advertisement As for what that show looks like, Freeman explained how some past experiences might inform future decisions while also detailing how last year's postseason continues to impact Notre Dame moving forward. When Tyler Buchner battled Drew Pyne to be Freeman's first starting quarterback, the competition wasn't entirely a fair fight. Freeman expected Buchner to win the job before the first practice period of camp. The sophomore figured as much too. Then Buchner suffered a season-altering shoulder injury in the season's second week and gave way to Pyne. Would the competition have turned out differently if Freeman was more open-minded? Probably not. But Freeman doesn't want to go down the same path of presumption with CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. 'I think what I learned from that is you don't ever go into a competition expecting somebody to win it. We will evaluate your performance, and that's what we'll do, right?' Freeman said. 'We're truly gonna evaluate both of those guys' performance. We'll make sure it's fair in terms of the reps, the situations they get.' The presumption is Carr will win the job with Steve Angeli out of the picture to Syracuse and Minchey remaining as the competition. And that presumption might become reality during the first couple of weeks of August. But Freeman wants to stress test both quarterbacks before choosing one. Maybe Carr struggles with a starter's burden. Maybe Minchey excels. The greatest unknown for Freeman is how either will react when the lights come on at Miami. Neither has started a game. Only Minchey has thrown a pass. It's all a big jump to opening night in south Florida. Working in favor of Carr and Minchey is they both have a year under offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, with Minchey also logging two with quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli. It's just that what's working against them is the thing coaches seem to value most: having been there and done that. Advertisement Neither Carr nor Minchey has. 'How do we find ways in fall camp to put them in as many high-pressure situations as we can?' Freeman said. 'One of them is to say, 'Hey, you know that you're going to be taken out if you don't execute.' Like, that's a stinky situation, but it's high-pressure, right? But what we've got to do is put them in as many of those situations, to get them to execute before we go and play down in Florida. So, that will be one of the ultimate challenges. 'In-game experience is a high-pressure experience. So, let's create that in practice.' Freeman may not come out and say this, but he knows Notre Dame ran into a better roster on Jan. 20. The Irish may not have taken their best shot at the Buckeyes in a game that collapsed around Freeman in the middle quarters, but it was clear Notre Dame needed to be much closer to perfect than it played. And that's because the Buckeyes had a talent edge before opening kickoff. Notre Dame doesn't have to get back to the CFP to change that reality either, with the 2026 Irish recruiting class ranked No. 2 in the 247Sports composite, one spot ahead of the Buckeyes. 'I'm always trying to get better, man. We want to be bigger, we want to be faster, we want to be stronger. I know that's a general statement, but I don't look at a team and say we need that,' Freeman said. 'You know what? Jeremiah Smith, I wouldn't turn away. He's dang good football player, but I'm pleased with what we got.' Catching Ohio State at the top of the food chain might be harder than what Freeman has already accomplished further down the roster. The Ohio State lesson in recruiting isn't just about topping off the roster with elite skill-position talent. It's about keeping the middle stout enough to endure a 16-game season. The Irish lost two starters on the offensive line during the CFP, never mind going without defensive tackle Rylie Mills and watching Jeremiyah Love come up lame. Advertisement That doesn't touch season-ending injuries to cornerback Benjamin Morrison and defensive ends Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho. Freeman said both ends, along with center Ashton Craig, would be back for Miami. 'The personnel you have that you can get through a 16-game season and have to use multiple different people with starters,' Freeman said. 'You go into the semifinals game and you're losing starters, putting backups in, but if you don't have the depth that you can put somebody and get the job done, then all of a sudden that becomes a hole and it becomes a deficiency and you lose.' A month ago Freeman counseled with a group of sports analytics experts, leaning into how to call a game with maximum efficiency. The analytics teams praised Freeman for how the Irish offense sequenced its play calling to get to fourth-and-short scenarios, the kind of down-and-distance where the math says go for it even if conventional wisdom doesn't always agree. 'I wanted to be like, 'I like your book and all those things, and thanks for the compliments, but the reason we went for it on fourth down was because of the confidence we had in getting that first down.'' Freeman recalled. 'And so, I sat with the offense and said, 'OK, Kenny Minchey isn't the running quarterback that Riley Leonard was — how do we create that confidence in the head coach that we can sequence things on third down, knowing that we're going to go for it on fourth down?' Herein lies the rub for Freeman. Going for it on fourth down with Minchey or Carr at quarterback won't make as much sense as it did with Leonard, even if the analytics are agnostic to a quarterback's ability to gain the hard yards. So how does Notre Dame get those inches when it absolutely needs them? Is there a get-out-of-jail-free card in this offense like Leonard's legs or former tight end Michael Mayer's catch radius? 'It's a great challenge for our offense and myself to come up with, 'OK, what will be our short-yardage packages,' right?' Freeman said. 'How do we find unique ways on offense to get an extra hat to the point of contact, so we feel very confident we'll get the first down? That's one of the great challenges we have.' Advertisement Working in Notre Dame's favor is an offensive line that could challenge for the Joe Moore Award, plus a running back in Love who might be the best in the sport. Working against the Irish, a green quarterback and a receiver group that still needs to prove itself. Yes, figuring out the starting quarterback will be a priority of the preseason. But once the Irish get that down, creating an offensive identity will be a close second. It's not clear exactly what that will be just yet, but if Freeman wants to call games with the same aggression as last season, he'll need to figure that out.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Should the Notre Dame-USC rivalry continue? Marcus Freeman makes his stance clear
Marcus Freeman wants the Notre Dame-USC rivalry extended. With the future of one of college football's most glamorous rivalries in doubt, Notre Dame's head coach weighed in on a series that began with Knute Rockne but might end with Lincoln Riley. This season's meeting in South Bend — the 93rd game in a series the Irish lead 50-37-5 — could be the final one in the series unless both schools agree on an extension. Advertisement 'Where I feel about USC is very clear, would love to play 'em every single year,' Freeman said Thursday. 'Don't matter when we play 'em, I would love to continue the rivalry as long as I'm the head coach here. I think rivalries are great for college football. I think they're great for sports.' Sports Illustrated reported earlier this month that the schools see the future of the series differently, with Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua pushing for an extension to the annual series between programs that have combined for 22 national championships, 15 Heisman Trophy winners and the most NFL Draft picks. USC reportedly doesn't want to enter into a long-term agreement with Notre Dame after its difficult debut season in the Big Ten amid uncertainty about the future of the College Football Playoff model. The Trojans finished 4-5 in the conference, tied for ninth in the league with Rutgers and Washington. Freeman looked back at the rivalries he has played in, including the Michigan-Ohio State series that rates among the sport's most-watched games annually. Before he was a starting linebacker for the Buckeyes, Freeman was an All-American at Wayne High school in Huber Heights, Ohio. 'I think back to high school when we played this team called the Centerville Elks where we were trying to go after this guy named A.J. Hawk because it was a rivalry,' Freeman said. 'Kirk Herbstreit went there. It was a huge rival. 'You got the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry — those contests are extremely important I think for all sports. And USC-Notre Dame is one that fits right into that category. I think it's great for college football and it's important for us. I'm very clear on wanting to continue that.' The Notre Dame-USC series has been played annually since it began in 1926, with exceptions for the COVID-19 pandemic (Notre Dame's 2020 trip to Los Angeles was canceled) and World War II (the teams didn't play for three seasons from 1943-45). Beyond that, the series has endured conference realignment and program upheaval, producing iconic moments because of it. Advertisement While it's less clear who needs the rivalry more in the expanding College Football Playoff era, it's obvious to Freeman that Notre Dame is reliant on the USC series for schedule-building purposes. As the sport moves more toward seasons being defined by making the CFP or missing it, Notre Dame's schedule becomes even more paramount, especially as the SEC ponders a move to a nine-game schedule and perhaps even a scheduling agreement with the Big Ten. If that agreement happens — several SEC coaches, including Brian Kelly, talked it up this week — it could put the Notre Dame-USC series in more peril while also leaving Notre Dame with some difficulty in scheduling other SEC or Big Ten schools due to a lack of availability. 'As far as scheduling, we know that we have to continue to have a challenging schedule to stay independent, and I know Pete Bevacqua and (deputy athletic director) Ron Powlus do a great job of making sure that we stay competitive enough but also not making decisions that are detrimental to our football program, too,' Freeman said. 'So we have to continue to have a competitive schedule that we're not going into the season and say, 'Hey, if you lose one game, you're out of the Playoff.' That's not the same as the SEC and the Big Ten and really any of the other conferences. 'We've got to continuously have a challenging schedule that is truly coast-to-coast.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman does not want to see and end to the USC rivalry
When the USC Trojans made the move to the Big Ten, it was always going to be a question if its rivalry with Notre Dame would continue. There have been rumors that the two storied programs might not face each other in the foreseeable future, but Irish head coach Marcus Freeman doesn't want that to happen. When speaking with the media on Thursday as reported by On3's Tyler Horka, he breached the topic and said if it's at the 'start of the season, middle of the season, end of the season … I don't care. I want to play USC every year because it's great for college football.' Advertisement It's hard to argue Freeman's point, as college football is all about tradition and historic rivalries. The two teams have played each other a total of 92 times, with the Irish having a commanding lead in the series with a 50-37-5 record. Notre Dame has won the last two contests the teams have played, and six of the last seven. They will face each other once again this fall in South Bend on Oct. 18th, and next season as well, but there has yet to be an agreement on the rivalry continuing beyond that. Hopefully the two sides work it out, as college football loves to see Notre Dame taking on USC. This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Marcus Freeman doesn't want to see the USC rivalry ending
