Detailing the wild week of road travels for Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman
Marcus Freeman was introduced as the new Notre Dame head football coach on Monday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. ET. Within an hour of the conclusion of the press conference, he hopped on a private jet with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees for four full days of nonstop recruiting trips.
Freeman said he was in 14 different states that week and logged more than 8,000 miles. Some of the states they stopped in were for quick pit stops to rest before their next trip. With that in mind, it’s impossible for us to accurately count every mile traveled, but from recruit to recruit, we have you covered.
Freeman’s travels actually began a day before the press conference when he made it to Traverse City, Mich. to visit with linebacker Joshua Burnham, a longtime Fighting Irish commitment. That visit was about 425 miles roundtrip.
Following the press conference, the private jet took off for a 165-mile trip to Campbellsport, Wis., as Rees and Freeman looked to close on four-star offensive guard Billy Schrauth, who had long been mulling between Notre Dame and Wisconsin. Their home visit with Schrauth sealed the deal for him to choose the Fighting Irish.
“[Coach Rees] helped me through it all,” Schrauth said. “He was honest with me the whole time. To hear that he wasn’t leaving and that Coach Freeman was getting the job was a good change for the program. It’s exactly what we need.”
Following the visit with Schrauth, Freeman and Rees flew 1,672 miles to Camas, Wash. for an important visit with four-star wide receiver commit Tobias Merriweather.
Just one week before this home visit, Brian Kelly was in the Merriweather household to enjoy some burnt ends and deviled eggs, and minutes after he departed from the house, news broke that he’d be leaving South Bend for Baton Rouge to take the LSU job. The Merriweather family was in disbelief.
Freeman and Rees needed to make sure everything was smoothed over. And all was good. Merriweather signed with the Irish last week.
It was important for Freeman to go see two key offensive recruits right off the bat.
“My job was to try to get to as many places as I could to see as many of these guys, especially the offensive guys, and try to at least start a relationship with them,” Freeman said. “I met a lot of these guys, but we didn't have a relationship.”
Freeman saw four recruits the following day on Dec. 7. The first trip of the day was to Scottsdale, Ariz. to battle for defensive end Anthony Lucas, which was about a 1,000-mile flight.
We’re told that Lucas had already indicated that he’d be going elsewhere, but the Notre Dame staff continued to fight for the elite prospect. However, Lucas picked Texas A&M on National Signing Day, but it wasn’t without a valiant effort by Freeman and defensive line coach Mike Elston.
From Arizona, Freeman’s next flight was to Mission Hills, Calif. — about 380 miles — to meet with Irish linebacker pledge Niuafe Tuihalamaka, who confirmed during that visit that he was solid with the Fighting Irish despite USC trying to make a move late.
Whether Freeman took the private jet around the Los Angeles area or traveled by car is beyond me, but after the Tuihalamaka visit, the Irish head coach went to Eastvale, Calif. for a visit with four-star cornerback commit Jaden Mickey, and the last visit of the day was in Santa Ana (Calif.) for a visit with four-star wide receiver pledge CJ Williams.
Mickey signed with the Irish, but Williams backed off of his commitment six days after the home visit and will announce his decision between UCLA and USC Jan. 8. The Trojans are believed to be the favorite for him.
From Southern California out to Ponchatoula, La. the next morning was just a little bit over 1,600 miles for Freeman and Rees, as they hoped to hold on to another wide receiver commitment in Amorion Walker. Despite Walker telling the Irish staff that he was locked in with Notre Dame one week ahead of signing day, the three-star recruit ultimately flipped to Michigan.
Losing Walker and Williams hurt the Notre Dame class, but the Irish signing Merriweather was big for the future of the receiver room. Receiver is also the No. 1 position we’re keeping an eye on in terms of possible additions, whether it be a high school recruit or a transfer.
Freeman’s next flight was about 600 miles to Hilton Head, S.C., home of linebacker Jaylen Sneed, the Irish’s highest ranked recruit in the 2022 class per Rivals (No. 41). Notre Dame wanted to make sure that Sneed was locked in with the Irish and that there wouldn’t be any funny business at the 11th hour. All was good on that front.
The last stop for Freeman Dec. 8 was in Naples, Fla., home of four-star cornerback Devin Moore. The goal was to get Moore, who had backed off his Notre Dame pledge a week prior, to lock back in with the Fighting Irish. The staff’s visit with Moore seemed to go well, but he tripped to Florida that weekend and eventually inked with the Gators.
The next morning, Dec. 9, Freeman flew north to Tampa, Fla. to check in on defensive end commit Keon Keeley, the lone class of 2023 prospect Freeman saw during the week. Freeman couldn’t have a full sit-down meeting with Keeley because he’s a junior, but it was still a meaningful visit as Freeman chatted with Berkeley Prep head coach Dominick Ciao.
The last stop of Freeman’s week was 1,017 miles up to Oradell, N.J. for a visit with a pair of Irish commitments at Bergen Catholic — quarterback Steve Angeli and defensive back Jayden Bellamy. Freeman wanted to stop in the Boston area for a visit afterwards with offensive tackle Ty Chan, but weather prohibited that trip from being possible. Rees was able to stop in to see Chan, though.
After Freeman flew back to South Bend from New Jersey, our estimated miles traveled for the Irish head coach was 8,155 miles.
“Having a relationship, an authentic relationship, a personal relationship, not this figure that is very inaccessible,” Freeman said in regard to how he plans to recruit as a head coach. “I want these guys to be able to access me at all times, communicate with me directly on my phone, and understand that this is going to be a very personable relationship.”
Notre Dame signed 21 prospects on National Signing Day, and the class ranks No. 7 according to Rivals.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.