3 reasons Notre Dame football is turning into the new 'Linebacker U'

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Oct 3, 2020; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats assistant coach Marcus Freeman during pregame between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the South Florida Bulls at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /

3 reasons Notre Dame football is turning into the new ‘Linebacker U’

Marcus Freeman

The third, and final reason, why the Irish will turn into the new Linebacker U is their new defensive coordinator, Marcus Freeman. Coming over from Cincinnati, Freeman was the No. 1 target for head coach Brian Kelly after Clark Lea left to be the head coach at his alma mater, Vanderbilt.

Not only is Freeman an elite defensive coach, and one who is going to take this unit to the next level, but he has already shown that he is an elite recruiter. That was one of the things we heard about Freeman before coming to South Bend, but we also heard that he is one of the better linebacker coaches at any level.

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 12: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly leads his team to the field before a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 12, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated USC 30-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

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As long as Freeman is the defensive coordinator, or possibly even the head coach down the line, the Irish are going to be able to stack linebacker talent. He was even offered a job to coach the linebackers at the NFL level, so while there could be question marks at other positions, linebacker will always be an elite group in South Bend with Freeman around.

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