UHND.com - Notre Dame Football, Basketball, & Recruiting

the early 1990's.

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that they get developed and get on the field when they are ready to be trusted....regardless of how crowded the room may be. Kids don't get buried. We have seen talented frosh get on the field in meaningful minutes...most without being forced to play due to injury or recruiting misses. Those two aspects alone make the Freeman led ND football program grab the attention of any talented kid wanting to max his education to "choose hard". I love that mantra, Kids willing to put in the work in the classroom, weightroom, and field are surrounded by like minded teammates. This leads to the entire program supporting and encouraging each other. What a great atmosphere.

It is not easy to do that and most coaches grasp, admire, and seek those values....but there just are not a plethora of elitely talented kids who love football and challenging their minds which makes the recruiting at ND a huge task. Freeman has embraced the challenges and thrived....and could well be on his way to becoming a Notre Dame legend if not already.

One common phrase I have seen stated about ND that is so true and valuable to the recruiting process is "have you ever heard of a student who flunked out of Notre Dame who didn't want to?" If athletes are willing to do the work, the programs that support them in the process of getting their degree are elite. It's almost like a forced enlightenment that a kid can't avoid.

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But I think saying Freeman might already be an ND legend is a bit premature. To be a legend, you gotta win a natty or at least have a 5 or 6 year run of all top 10 teams.

Hopeful he'll get there, but no natty, no statue.

he has become a legend to many whose lives he has touched in his short time at ND. Whether or not he is ever anointed with that status by the full legion of Notre Dame fans and alums is still to be determined. But what he has done to a seemingly dead program, one without a moral compass under Kelly, makes many think he has made the impossible possible once again. He has raised the competence of all areas of the program, with the exception maybe of WR recruiting, to a level that makes most believe once again.

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