Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman Praises Bearcats: "I'm Gonna Be Rooting Like Heck for Them'

Freeman was Cincinnati's defensive coordinator for four seasons.

CINCINNATI — Marcus Freeman will officially be introduced as Notre Dame's head football coach on Monday afternoon. 

The former University of Cincinnati defensive coordinator admitted he couldn't root against the Bearcats, even though a UC loss against Houston would've helped Notre Dame's chances of making the College Football Playoff. 

"I could not root against Cincinnati. Those are kids I helped recruit," Freeman said on the Dan Patrick Show. "Those are kids that you love, those are kids that you recruit, those are kids that you grow with and Coach Fickell, he was obviously my college position coach and somebody that gave me the opportunity to be a defensive coordinator for the first time. I was rooting like heck for that program, for him and those kids."

Freeman acknowledged that the Bearcats' win over the Fighting Irish in South Bend earlier this season is why they're in the College Football Playoff, but also made it clear that he'll be cheering for his former team in the Cotton Bowl. 

"As much as you wanted to win that one, if you could choose one team or one group of individuals it's that group," Freeman said. "I know the work they've put in and I'm gonna be rooting like heck for them when they play Alabama."

Watch the video clip below. 

Despite the fact that a Cincy loss could've meant #NotreDame getting into the #CFBPlayoff, new #FightIrish Head Coach @Marcus_Freeman1 said he couldn't root against his former team this past weekend. Freeman was the #Bearcats DC from 2017-2020 pic.twitter.com/oHLYyIbO5t

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) December 6, 2021

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