One of the refrains about Notre Dame football that is repeated over and over by the young men who sign their name on the dotted line in South Bend is that they do so for athletic glory but also because of what the school offers once their playing days are over. Isiah Dunn's playing days aren't anywhere near over yet, but he's already parlaying his career with the Fighting Irish into a career off the field, and it's clear his head coach couldn't be happier about it.
This was rather obvious when the two met most unusually. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has spent the week on talk shows in New York as part of his team's unofficial media days. One of those stops included ESPN, where Dunn is currently working as a summer intern.
Notre Dame football player Isaiah Dunn surprises Marcus Freeman during ESPN internship
Once the segment started, Dunn - a walk-on for the Notre Dame football team who appeared in one game last year - surprised his head coach. After the surprise was sprung, it was clear Freeman was thrilled to be seeing the young cornerback in his current job.
Just had the privilege to interview Coach Freeman on ESPN CFP LIVE! Thank you espn for the opportunity! Go Irish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/2xZrSIIjs3
— Isaiah Dunn (@Isaiahdunn22) July 18, 2025
"Dunn, man. How you doing?" Freeman asked after the shock wore off. "We were just talking about you. I was hoping to get a chance to run into you, but they told me you were in Connecticut. And so I love seeing you virtually, man."
The two then did a brief question and answer period as Dunn was allowed to put on his journalist hat. As the segment ended, the player made it clear he was looking forward to getting back to South Bend and kicking off fall camp with the rest of his Irish teammates.
Dunn has previously talked about his experience interning at ESPN on social media. He'll no doubt continue to grow and learn in sports broadcasting as he is also a co-host for the popular school-aligned podcast Wake Up the Echoes.
For the Notre Dame football head coach, he got to see one of his players starting to set himself up for his post-playing days, and Marcus Freeman was clearly thrilled to see he was doing so well.