Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman Appears To Take Shot At Ohio State’s Academics

“You don’t go to class (at places like that) … At Notre Dame, you’re forced every day to go to class.”

In a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd, former Ohio State linebacker and current Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman praised his new employer for its focus on academics, then took an apparent shot at his alma mater with his next breath.

A look behind the curtain of Marcus Freeman's honeymoon summer at Notre Dame. He'll never have it better. Well, unless he wins a natty. https://t.co/GIT2kk2bUr

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) June 13, 2022

“I’m not saying from top to bottom, but the majority of our kids, they – I want to say this the right way – are pushed to learn and their study habits are formulated every day,” Freeman said. “You can’t cheat academics at Notre Dame.”

To drive this point home, Freeman reportedly brought up his time with the Buckeyes, with whom he was a two-time second-team All-Big Ten selection under Jim Tressel, as well as his four-year stint as the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati from 2017-20.

“You don’t go to class (at places like that),” Freeman said. “OK, take some online classes, show up for your appointments. At Notre Dame, you’re forced every day to go to class.”

This isn’t the first time Freeman has ruffled some feathers in Columbus, as he wrote in The Players’ Tribune he regrets choosing the Buckeyes over the Fighting Irish out of high school in 2004.

“I just thank God that I didn’t make the wrong decision twice,” he said, referencing his opportunity to become Notre Dame’s head coach or take another job elsewhere.

Of course, Freeman’s comments will add a little more intrigue to Ohio State’s season opener against the Fighting Irish on Sept. 3. Surely it won’t take long for the Buckeyes to add them to the bulletin board at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

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