Notre Dame is doing things right now that have not been done for a long time, and head coach Marcus Freeman is the one to thank for the majority of it. The Irish are recruiting at such a high level that right now, Freeman has the No. 4 2026 and 2027 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.
The Irish also practically have an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff for years to come as long as they finish ranked in the top 12 of the final CFP rankings. Freeman has also led Notre Dame back to a National Championship game and multiple double-digit win seasons since becoming the head coach.
Freeman is a special head coach, and college football legend David Pollack can't say enough great things about him. Pollack has already spoken very highly of Freeman on his podcast, "See Ball Get Ball," and now he is joined by Brent Rollins, who agrees with everything the young Notre Dame coach is doing.
"That is Marcus Freeman's personality, that is who he is, that is his swag, and that is his freaking coaching," Pollack said. "When you watch this dude, he has evolved. He understands who he is."
𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 ☘️
— CathVSConf☘️ (@CathVSConf) February 4, 2026
Brent nailed it — Marcus Freeman is restoring a standard people forgot Notre Dame was capable of.
A top‑two recruiting class for the first time in more than a decade.
David Pollock?
That's is Marcus Freeman’s freaking… pic.twitter.com/DLmgj2aZCq
Freeman has brought Notre Dame's recruiting to a level that recent coach Brian Kelly said the Irish could never get to. Kelly even left Notre Dame to go and hit that level of recruiting at LSU, and just never was able to. It proved that it was never the program, but the head coach. Marcus Freeman is the coach though to get guys in the building.
David Pollack reminds Notre Dame fans not to take all of this for granted
Pollack made sure to remind Notre Dame fans that they have it really good right now. Not only do they play a schedule that is mostly aligned with the ACC, but they don't have to deal with the problems of belonging to a conference, and now they still have the best chance at making it to the College Football Playoff.
Being a Notre Dame fan now, looking towards the future, should feel like the best thing ever. Almost a guaranteed spot in the CFP every year and having Freeman as the head coach is a privilege that fans can't take for granted.