Notebook: Marcus Freeman details ND's rhyme and reason with NIL recruiting

The importance of academics and the value of education has seemingly always been on the mind of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.

As the era of name, image and likeness (NIL) in college football evolves into another avenue to entice recruits and players, the upfront dollars may be overshadowing the long-term value of the college experience.

About five months ago, on the same day five-star quarterback Dante Moore announced his verbal commitment to Oregon after Notre Dame believed he would end up in its class, Freeman shared a message on Twitter from Algernod Lanier Washington — better known as the American rapper Plies.

The multi-million-dollar musician played college football at Miami (Ohio) before excelling in the music industry. However, even after a few record deals and fortunate earnings later, Plies spoke emphatically about the prestige of higher education. It was a message that just so happened to resonate with Freeman that day.

“I don’t even like to say what I was (going to) say,” said Piles in a Twitter video, calling out high school athletes and parents, “but it’s the sad reality. One thing that I’ve learned is the hardest thing to convince a young athlete of … is the importance of education. It’s the hardest thing in the world. …

“For most of our kids, when an academic-first institution is recruiting them, they take it as an insult. … They look at it in their mind as if it’s a failure. And we’ve been tricked and bamboozled. No one else has done it. We’ve done it to ourselves.”

“Great message!” Freeman wrote when sharing the tweet.

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Fast forward 166 days later, Freeman, stood on the podium in the Notre Dame Stadium media room, selling the value of a degree from the 18th-ranked national university in the country, according to the U.S. News & World Report. And he did it while using the 24 high school seniors who signed with the Irish on Wednesday as examples.

“The guys that we got, they understand the value of Notre Dame,” Freeman said. “It’s twofold, right? They want to play the highest level of college football. We want ultimate competitors that want to play the best. They want to play the teams that we’re playing. They want to play a global, a national brand of football. And they want to be first-round picks in the NFL Draft.

“But the other side of that is they understand they’re going to have to really sacrifice in the classroom. They’re going to have to study. They’re going to have to do the difficult things that it takes to earn a Notre Dame education because they understand the value of that. That’s important that they understand that.”

That message might not have resonated the same way for others over the last eight months.

Seven commitments didn't follow through with verbal pledges at some point in Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class: four-star running backs Sedrick Irvin (Stanford), Dylan Edwards (Colorado) and Jayden Limar (Oregon), four-star cornerback Justyn Rhett (Georgia), five-star defensive end Keon Keeley (Alabama), four-star offensive tackle Elijah Paige (USC) and five-star safety Peyton Bowen (Oklahoma). That was the most decommitments at ND in a single recruiting cycle since at least 2010.

Even Moore, who remained committed to Oregon for months, flipped his commitment in the last week to UCLA before signing with the Bruins. Bowen, who committed to Oregon on Wednesday after being committed to the Irish since Jan. 1, ended up signing with Oklahoma on Thursday.

Each recruit had their own reason for not signing with Notre Dame, and Freeman did not want to spend time Wednesday addressing specific recruits who went elsewhere. The evaluations of their departures by the staff will happen behind closed doors.

“Some of them, we’ll have to say it wasn’t the right fit, and that’s OK,” he said. "Some you look at and say that we have to evaluate the way we’re recruiting, what we’re selling and how we got to the point where they didn’t want to come here and decommitted.

“If you don’t learn from every kid who has committed or decommitted, you’re losing a chance to grow. That’s something we’re going to do.”

Freeman and the staff will evaluate the role NIL played in several prized commits ending up elsewhere.

“We have to make sure no matter what the important things are in recruiting, we have to make sure we are competitive,” he said. “NIL is important to some of these recruits, and we have to make sure we’re competitive. I think we are. But we have to continue to look back and evaluate who we got, why we got them and why we didn’t get certain guys.”

But what Notre Dame won’t do is what defensive coordinator Al Golden later hinted to as the “irregularities of recruiting or some of the sideshows” that take place. In recent months, some of college football’s most respected voices have shared their opinions of the uneven playing fields for some programs due to the NIL misuses. And Freeman did not hesitate to proclaim Notre Dame’s stance.

“Acquisition fees, we don’t speak to that,” Freeman said. “Is it a part of recruiting? Yeah, because you discussed it. It’s a topic of discussion. But in terms of acquisition fees, we’re not going to get into that. We can’t. If that’s going to be the reason you decide to come here, it’s hard to keep you here."

Freeman validated his example by using Notre Dame’s 2022 class as a case study — the first time recruits could legally be influenced by NIL offerings. Only five of the 20 available players in last year's class played enough games to burn a redshirt. Cornerback Jayden Bellamy is the only one to enter the transfer portal so far.

And with the regular season complete and most of the current freshman class together, Freeman won’t be swayed to change Notre Dame’s NIL stance. Instead, he’ll keep focusing on recruiting players that see beyond the number of digits on a paycheck.

“If you're coming here for an acquisition fee or you’re coming here for NIL and you don’t get that instant gratification of playing right away, it’s going to be tough to stay here,” he said. “That’s what we have to understand. When you bring these guys in, it’s going to take a little bit of time to really be able to run out there in Notre Dame Stadium and have a huge impact on a program. It takes time. Very few guys can come here and play or start right away. …

“It takes time to really make that adjustment from high school to major college football. We need guys who understand the value of this place and what it will provide in the long run because you’re not going to get that instant gratification some guys are looking for.”

One look at the Notre Dame scholarship chart gives a good glimpse of the positional needs for the football program's future. And Freeman singled out the offensive line, defensive line and wide receiver.

The three position groups comprise over half (13/24) of Notre Dame’s incoming freshman class. And all three positions had new coaches at the helm.

On the offensive line, Harry Hiestand returned to Notre Dame for his second tour as O-line coach. He previously served with the Irish from 2012-17 and signed nine Rivals250 offensive linemen in his previous five cycles at ND.

In this year’s cycle, Hiestand added three Rivals250 offensive linemen (Charles Jagusah, Chris Terek, Sullivan Absher), another four-star (Sam Pendleton) and a three-star (Joe Otting). That haul received the seal of approval from offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

“The group of five we got personify what coach Hiestand is looking for in an offensive line class and then individuals,” Rees said. “You get around each guy, and then you really get around with families of each person, and you start to get a sense of exactly what it means to be an offensive lineman at Notre Dame. The character it takes, the mental makeup it takes.

“Obviously, coach's success here has been well-documented and well-earned with the production he's had and the players he's developed, and you look at the mental makeup of these five and what they're about, and they fall right in line with what we're trying to build as a culture in that room.”

In wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey’s overhaul at the position, he added four high school recruits at Notre Dame for just the second time during the Rivals era (since 2002). He also signed a grad transfer in Virginia Tech standout Kaleb Smith … not to be confused with three-star signee Kaleb Smith from Frisco, Texas.

Not only did Stuckey get quantity at the position, but he also added quality between Rico Flores Jr., Jaden Greathouse and Braylon James. Their additions marked the first time Notre Dame has signed three Rivals250 wide receivers.

When grading Stuckey’s first class at Notre Dame, Rees raved about Stuckey’s personality being the driving force behind the recruiting victories.

“(Stuckey) can walk in and immediately make a connection with somebody regardless of where they're from or their background,” Rees said. “He's pretty impressive when he gets around families, and you all spent a little bit of time with him. He's just got an infectious way about him, really positive, really upbeat.”

The group set to play for defensive line coach Al Washington earned praise from Golden with its collection of recruits ready to compete and provide depth in Brenan Vernon, Boubacar Traore, Devan Houstan and Armel Mukam.

“Boubacar (has) length, (is) rangy and probably in the 240 (pounds) range right now,” Golden said. “At some point here, we'll get him to 255-60, I'm sure. Brenan brings physical assets. He's strong, he's tough and he's a competitor. Devan is another guy that brings size inside. Mukam (has) strength.

“Overall, I'm excited about that group and anxious to get them here and get them going."

Notre Dame’s incoming freshman class will not change its plan in attacking the transfer portal this offseason.

So far, the Irish have signed Virginia Tech grad transfer wide receiver Kaleb Smith and South Florida grad transfer kicker Spencer Shrader. Pennsylvania grad transfer punter Ben Krimm has also agreed to a preferred walk-on spot with the Irish.

To fill out the remaining presumed needs at quarterback, defensive line and elsewhere, Freeman's staff will prioritize finding players ready to play right away.

“If we’re going to go into the portal for certain positions, we have to make sure that we know, one, they’ll fit here, but two, they can have an immediate impact,” Freeman said. “That hasn’t changed based off who we’ve signed. Because you don’t sign high school kids to say, ‘OK, this kid has to have an immediate impact.’ You hope some of them do, but you don’t know.”

- Freeman did not declare which position three-star athlete Brandyn Hillman will start preparing for at Notre Dame.

“I think we’ll let the coordinators kind of wrestle this one out and figure out what side of the ball he’s on,” Freeman said. “Brandyn can make plays on the offensive side with the ball in his hands as a quarterback, wideout, defensive side of the ball being a safety. He is a physical, ball-hawking on defense, punishing, make plays on offense. That’s one of those guys you kind of watch the film and say, ‘OK, he’s a football player.’”

- As Inside ND Sports has reported for the last month, the shoulder injury to Rivals250 quarterback Kenny Minchey’s throwing arm is “minor,” according to Rees. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Minchey threw Tuesday and will play in the All-American Bowl on Jan. 7, 2023.

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