Notre Dame football's approach to sports science fueling historic health

The Notre Dame football team is just days away from heading to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. Despite being a surprising underdog, Marcus Freeman and company are feeling really good about their chances for the playoffs.

Freeman and company are so happy and excited about this season because while they’ve suffered a couple of significant injuries, that’s not much different than anyone else. However, the Irish head coach thinks the squad has been healthier this spring and summer than in a long time.

"This has been the healthiest fall camp since I’ve been head coach, but as we’ve really taken data, probably from the last 12 to 15 years, we’ve had the fewest injuries in, I think, 15 years," Freeman said at a recent Notre Dame football press conference.

Notre Dame football sports science approach leading to historic gains

“We practiced 15 percent more this fall camp than we had previously. We only had one concussion, and we’re down 30 percent overall in concussions, strains, and sprains,” Freeman added.

The Irish coach isn’t just talking about his four-year stay in South Bend. His data goes back to when Brian Kelly is at the helm. And before that.

Obviously there have been season ending injuries to Charles Jagusah and Chance Tucker, but Freeman is talking more about the volume of injuries. And the chronic problems such as the ones he cited. 

"So, just wanted to say I’d like to give credit to our sports performance team and the way they’ve supported our players outside of practice and to our coaches that have bought into the adjustments we’ve had to make going into each practice,” Freeman concluded. “The way we’ve structured practice, the results have shown and it’s been really good. We’ve practiced more and had less injuries and that’s a great statistic."

The sports science approach, an approach that he’s being specifically cagey about because it’s ground breaking, is just the latest way in which Freeman has changed things in South Bend. 

He’s already gotten credit for changing the Notre Dame football recruiting operations. Now he’s putting his fingerprints on other aspects of the program.