Scuffles at Notre Dame spring practice aren't something Marcus Freeman loses sleep over

A football team is a brotherhood, and that is something Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has made sure to nurture and cultivate in South Bend. However, just like with any brotherly relationship, sometimes disagreements can come up, but the love and respect are still there.

Notre Dame is in the middle of spring football practices with the spring game looming soon. During his media availability, Freeman spoke about the rumored "fights" that have broken out during practices, and he made sure to clear the air on what is really going on.

"These dudes are competitive, and I don't want them to lose that competitive spirit," Freeman said. "If we don't have scuffles or tussles, I don't know that I want to define it as a fight, then we are probably not as competitive as I aspire our team to be."

Marcus Freeman knows Notre Dame 'fights' are nothing more than competitive spirit

Freeman couldn't even classify the "fights" Notre Dame players have had in spring practices as such. That doesn't mean, though, that Freeman isn't keeping an eye on what is happening. While the Notre Dame head coach knows they are nothing more than some scuffles, he still has rules around fighting.

If a scuffle or "fight" breaks out, it is only allowed between two players, and the rest of the team is responsible for breaking it up. The biggest rule of all is that no one touches the guys with the red jerseys, the quarterbacks. Even though Freeman said quarterback CJ Carr can be the instigator, the players know the QBs are off limits in these scuffles.

Freeman made a good point, though, about fights that break out, and that all comes from a competitive background. If guys didn't care, they wouldn't get upset and would just move on, but they do care, and they want to put their best out on that field each and every day.

Don't take too much time, though, with these scuffles because Freeman also said he knows how to get his missed time back.