Marcus Freeman Talks Sam Hartman Impact On Receivers, Rib Necklace, First Pitches

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman discussed a handful of topics recently as a guest on ESPN's SportsCenter

Notre Dame’s 2023 fall training camp begins next week. College football camps don’t typically start until early August, but the Fighting Irish will get an early jump start this season since they open the season during “Week Zero” when they face Navy on Aug. 26 in Dublin, Ireland.

We will have plenty of chances to hear from second year Irish head coach Marcus Freeman once camp starts, but Freeman, too, got an early media jump start when he visited ESPN and NFL Network last week to speak with the different outlets. Freeman shared with SportsCenter the difference for him heading into his second season at Notre Dame.

"I think now you know exactly what to expect, right,” Freeman rhetorically asked. "Last year I could have a book, I could have almost a thought process of, okay, here's how fall camp will go, here's how the season will go. But now you have experience of one year doing it. The challenge is to enhance. You know what to expect but you have to enhance the process as you move forward.”

Freeman’s offense loses experienced starters like Michael Mayer, Josh Lugg, Jarrett Patterson, and Braden Lenzy, but it also gains the most experienced quarterback in the nation in sixth year Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman.

"I think his talent speaks for him as for itself, right,” Freeman said of Hartman. "We know his accomplishments from being at Wake Forest and being in the ACC. But to me, it's two things: One is his experience and that he's proven to do this, perform as a quarterback at a high level. He's not easily shaken, but two is his leadership ability. You know, your quarterback has to be a leader and his ability to make those people that are around him better has been tremendous and I'm excited for our season with him as our quarterback.”

The losses of Mayer and Lenzy, coupled with the transfer of Lorenzo Styles to Ohio State, means three of the team’s top four receiving targets from 2022 are gone. That trio combined for 121 receptions for 1,458 yards and 13 touchdowns. Freeman discussed how Hartman can help Notre Dame’s talented but inexperienced receiving corps make impact early in the season.

"I think when you talk about (Hartman’s) transition, starting in January to where it is now,” Freeman began. "He started off trying to earn the trust of those around him. He had those receivers out there throwing the ball with them and helping them trying to improve. But now, I told him, it's his job to make those guys better. Whatever ways that he has to do that through being out there practicing and throwing the balls to holding them accountable to gaining the trust of those guys. It's his job to truly make those guys that are around them that are young that maybe don't know exactly the process that it takes to have success like Sam does. He's got to teach them, and he's got to truly be a leader and a coach. I love what I've seen. I think back to practice one in spring to practice 15, and the performance of not just Sam, not just our offense but the wideouts to where they started off in practice one to 15, it's been tremendous.”

Freeman was asked about Hartman’s decision to have a rib he had surgically removed last year turned into a necklace. The rib near his collarbone was removed when he was diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder to help prevent future clotting.

"I've spent enough time with him to know that you know, Sam is uh ... You know, most great individuals are different individuals,” Freeman said with a smile. “Sam is a different guy. But, you know, he uses those setbacks that he's had in his life as reminders, as motivations, as reasons to continue to fight and move forward. And so, you know, when you talk about a guy having part of his rib removed, having his mother who's just as fierce as he is, that creates it into a necklace. It's almost like a scar for him. It's tattooed ... reminds him of those difficult times that he's overcame.”

Freeman threw out the first pitch before Friday’s New York Mets – Los Angeles Dodgers game. Former Notre Dame baseball player and current Mets hitting coach Jeremy Barnes was his catcher for the ceremonial throw. He hit the left corner of the plate with a changeup with Barnes framing the pitch. Freeman was asked if there is more pressure to throw a first pitch strike or coach a game at Notre Dame.

"Definitely throw a first pitch strike because here's why,” Freeman began. “It's up to me to actually go do it, right? And when you're coaching you almost feel helpless, right. You try to prepare this team and get them ready for this upcoming game but when the foot hits the ball they gotta go play and they got to go execute and they gotta go do their job. So there's much more pressure when you're actually the one that has to do it instead of the one that's trying to say okay, hey, let those other guys go do it.”

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