Marcus Freeman’s most noticeable impact in his first several months as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator has come in recruiting, which is the ideal script for the start of his tenure. He arrived with a reputation as a tireless recruiter who could help Notre Dame push higher.
It was the first area he could make waves, after all. He wouldn’t coach a game for nine months.
The time for assessing Freeman’s on-field work, though, is inching closer. There, he’s tasked with keeping a stout defense at that same level. He will make some tweaks while being mindful of the success and culture that’s already in place. And on the personnel side, he inherits a unit that loses star power but still isn’t lacking it.
Freeman enters fall camp with a handle on his personnel, but with some areas still left to sort out. Here are five questions Freeman and head coach Brian Kelly will go about answering in fall camp — with insight from each about how to do so.
1. What Happens At Two Cornerback Spots?
Notre Dame has narrowed the list of candidates for the boundary and slot cornerback jobs, yet it’s still hard to know what the Irish will get from them.
Junior Cam Hart is the favorite at boundary corner, but only because Notre Dame missed on Tulsa graduate transfer Akayleb Evans. Pursuing Evans — who will play at Missouri — was a sign the Irish wanted help even after strong springs from Hart (6-2½, 207) and sophomore Ramon Henderson (6-1, 189). The duo has a combined 110 career snaps, with most of those coming in mop-up duty.
Without Evans, it’s Hart’s job to lose. He made strides in the spring. Can he make more in August?
“He definitely looks the part there,” Freeman told BlueandGold.com. “He had a great spring. I heard great things about him. He has done some really good things.”
Elsewhere, Notre Dame is hunting for a nickel corner. That role mainly belonged to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a rare athlete who could handle traditional linebacker duties, play in the slot and rush the passer. If it wasn’t him, departed safety Shaun Crawford sometimes slid down to the slot in sub-packages.
“We were a unique defense in that we had a guy named Jeremiah who could play that inside position,” Kelly told BlueandGold.com. “He was a linebacker who could cover. Not many people have that. You have to take people off the field and bring in another corner. That’s where college football has changed dramatically in finding that guy. It’s hard enough to find two. Now you have to find a third.”
