Notre Dame football: Marcus Freeman the final piece to a championship puzzle
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team hit a home run with the hiring of Marcus Freeman, who could be the final piece to a championship puzzle in South Bend.
The 2021 college football season has yet to start for the Notre Dame football program, but expectations are already soaring. The Irish are fresh off another College Football Playoff appearance, and looking at the talent on both sides of the ball, it should be another winning season in South Bend.
However, looking forward, just winning seasons may not be where the Irish finish up at the end of future seasons.
That is because the hire of Marcus Freeman has breathed new life into this program in terms of recruiting, and we already know what he can do coaching the players up. Freeman has hit the ground running since being hired to replace Clark Lea as defensive coordinator for the Irish, and he just may be the final piece to a championship puzzle for Notre Dame football.
While Notre Dame has been very successful in recent years, they have failed to win on the big stage, due to not having as much elite talent as the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson. In his first offseason with the team, Freeman is changing that narrative and has already put together a monster 2022 recruiting class.
Notre Dame football bringing in elite 2022 and 2023 classes
Currently, the Irish have the No. 3 overall recruiting class for the 2022 cycle according to 247Sports.com, leading the country with 13 four-star recruits already signed. That haul has a lot to do with Freeman, who is an absolute mastermind on the recruiting trail, and someone who is going into rival areas and stealing kids from those programs.
It is very early, but the 2023 class is ranked No. 3 as well, as the team has already landed a five-star talent for that cycle in Brenan Vernon. Vernon is rated a top-20 player in the country, and the second-rated player in the state of Ohio, which just happens to be home to the Buckeyes.
If Freeman and the rest of the staff can continue to stockpile this kind of talent, the bridge between them and the national powers gets smaller, and the program certainly has the coaching talent to bring them the rest of the way.
Obviously, the Irish have a lot of work left to do this summer, and the 2021 season may not be the one that gets them back to the Promised Land. However, the program is certainly trending in the right direction, and with this coaching staff, as well as the talent coming in, you have to think being a true national title contender is in the cards for the Irish very soon.