Marcus Freeman Respects Dabo Swinney's Clemson Foundation

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman discussed some of the most important things

Notre Dame and Clemson are not necessarily two programs going in different directions. They are also not a duo following parallel trajectories.

Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish have been an above average program in his one-plus season as head coach, while Dabo Swinney’s Tigers, who enter Saturday’s game between the two teams at 4-4, find themselves in a bit of a tailspin after holding elite status in college football for a dozen years.

"I view Clemson as one of the premiere programs in college football and what Coach Swinney has done with that program over the course of his time there has been second to no other program in college football,” Freeman explained. "It’s extremely impressive.

"I want to make sure everybody in our program understands don’t let the 4-4 record reflect the team,” Freeman continued. "Just watch the film. They are as talented as any team we’ve faced this year across the board, and we have to understand that.”

Prior to Swinney’s first full season as Clemson head coach in 2009, the program had won at least 10 games in back-to-back seasons just once. It was a run of four straight years from 1987-1990. The program that began playing in 1902 has only three other seasons with double digit wins.

Swinney’s Tigers won at least 10 games for 12 straight years prior to this season. He has led Clemson to a pair of national championships and two other College Football Playoff appearances. The foundation of Clemson football that Freeman sees is one that begins with recruiting and includes a particular style of play.

"I’m not in their building every day,” Freeman said when asked about Clemson’s culture. "When I watch film, to me, I can see a culture, right, as a team that plays extremely hard. They’re talented. So, when I see their culture, guys that play really hard it’s a reflection of their coach. When I see talented football players on the field it’s a reflection of the way they recruit. So, that’s what I see when I watch Clemson football over the course of the years. Talented individuals that play extremely hard. National champions. I mean, here’s a great resume that he has that you’re a fool if you don’t try to emulate some of that and try to say, ok what is Clemson doing really well that could help this program continue to enhance.

"I want people to watch Notre Dame football play and say those guys play really hard,” Freeman continued. "That’s the greatest compliment a coach can receive is that his guys play extremely hard, extremely physical. But the second part, I want them to see great football players on that field, which speaks to the recruiting and that’s what I see when I watch Clemson football.”

Notre Dame’s recruiting has stacked up well in comparison to Clemson in Freeman’s time as head coach. His 2022-2024 recruiting classes have an average ranking of 9, while Clemson’s average is 12.

In fact, Irish recruiting class rankings have stood up well to Clemson’s over the past 14 cycles. From 2010-2024, Notre Dame’s average ranking has been 11.8 and Clemson’s has been 13.

While Notre Dame’s biggest consistency has been producing high end offensive linemen (especially left tackles) and tight ends, Clemson has done better on the defensive line and with quarterbacks. Former Tigers Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson were both first round NFL draft picks after each leading the Tigers to national championships, while all-time program win leader Ian Book’s 4th round pick is the best Notre Dame has fared in that same span. 

Swinney had back-to-back 3-loss seasons before this year's 4-losses heading into Saturday's matchup with the Irish. It's the first time that has happened since his 2009-2011 stretch early in his tenure. 

While Notre Dame has embraced the transfer portal with players like Sam Hartman, Jack Coan, Thomas Harper, and Javontae-Jean Baptiste in the last three seasons, Swinney has not embraced the portal, relying instead on his recruiting and coaching.

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