Three days before Marcus Freeman hit the road Saturday to root on the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team in its NCAA Tourney semifinal in Philadelphia, he finished his May sweep of visiting Notre Dame clubs around the country with a finale in Cincinnati.
The brief Q&A session with the second-year Irish head football coach Wednesday at the luncheon event at the Cintas Center gave fans an opportunity to delve into their football curiosities.
Instead it turned into NIL-a-polooza.
“It was the first four questions out of the gate, and I bet he took six questions total,” said former ND and NFL linebacker Rocky Boiman, the man who introduced Freeman to the group at the event. “ I actually asked another question to try to get people off NIL, because that was what he was getting bombarded with.”
Not that name, image and likeness’ nearly 2-year-old infusion into college sports doesn’t cross the mind of Boiman, now husband, father or three, flag football and T-ball coach, college football analyst (ESPN), radio show host (WLW 700 AM) and author (Rocky’s Rules).
“I think Marcus Freeman gave people confidence that there are NIL things going on when it comes to Notre Dame,” Boiman said, “but [he] did emphasize that, ‘Look, we think we have such a product at Notre Dame where the other things can become more important than that.’
“Obviously, the tradition and all the other things the school has to offer. And the tremendous coaching staff. I will say, just out of my own opinion, I don’t think Notre Dame should be reluctant to dive right in on NIL. I’m someone who doesn’t love all the aspects of NIL. I think it should be a little bit more controlled.
“I think it should be more of a symbiotic relationship, where there should be more expected out of players. Sometimes I think players want money, but then there are things that they don’t want from a responsibility standpoint on their end. So, with that said, Notre Dame — right or wrong — this is where we are in college football. This is what the kids respond to.”
Boiman, 43, responded to then-Irish assistant Urban Meyer’s sales pitch in the late ‘90s to matriculate from Cincinnati St. Xavier High to ND to play for head coach Bob Davie.
“I went to Notre Dame because I fell head over heels for Knute Rockne and the Four Horsemen and Rocket Ismail and Chris Zorich and all this,” Boiman said. “Then, for recruits, it became about facilities. Programs tried to build facilities up in the arms race. That’s what got the recruits.
“Now fortunately or unfortunately, it’s NIL and that money situation. And that’s where we are. And I think Notre Dame should embrace it, because everyone else is.”
Freeman’s own agenda before turning to the Q-and-A portion of his program was to share the highs and lows of his first season as Brian Kelly’s successor and share some stories about his growth from those experiences heading into his second season.
“One of the areas of growth he highlighted we his involvement with the offens, being a former defensive coordinator,” Boiman said. “One of the things people asked at the luncheon — besides NIL — was about the new offensive coordinator, [Gerad] Parker. Marcus talked about that, as a defensive coach, he can play devil’s advocate a little bit. If they’re installing things from an offensive perspective, he can say, ‘Well hey, here’s how I would try to defend that.’
“That’s a pretty good dynamic and kind of a good argument against — a lot of people think you should only hire offensive head coaches these days, you know Andy Reid, Zac Taylor and all these guys in the NFL are offensive guys that are doing well. But I think there’s something to be said about a defensive coach who’s smart and knows how to defeat the things that the offense may be trying to do.”
The area of growth Boiman personally is most impressed with is Freeman’s ability to upgrade the Irish roster with the transfer portal, particularly adding Wake Forest sixth-year QB Sam Hartman, even if it helped coax the transfers of junior Tyler Buchner (Alabama) and senior Drew Pyne (Arizona State) out of Notre Dame.
“I think Sam Hartman could be the best quarterback Notre Dame has had since Brady Quinn (2003-06),” Boiman said. “I covered Sam Hartman a couple of times over the years, including last year. He has like 13,000 career pass yards. The guy has seen every blitz. He’s seen every coverage. I really think a lot of him and what he can do in this offense. I think it’s really good for Notre Dame.”
And Boiman, who has known Freeman since the head coach’s defensive coordinator days at the University of Cincinnati, thinks Freeman is proving he could be really good for ND.
“I think in 2023 a lot is going to come down to the offensive coordinator (Parker) and how that shakes out and the offense in general making some more strides,” Boiman said. “Things just seemed stale last year. I just think anyone would say that.
“I have confidence in Marcus.Ten wins in the regular season. A top 6-8 finish. I think that’s certainly within the realm of possibility, especially with that quarterback they’re bringing in, Hartman. I think it’s continued improvement, and I think it still comes down to winning every game you should win and winning some if not most of the games you shouldn’t.
“That’s what elite programs do. Elite programs don’t lose to Marshall. Period. End of story. They take care of that game. OK, you win one against Clemson. You go up against Ohio State, that’s a tough one and maybe you don’t get that one. But there’s another game that it’s a close one against a blue-blood program [USC], and you find a way to win that.
“I think that’s what every Irish fan would like to see.”
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