When the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in primetime on Saturday, it will be a sort of homecoming for Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman as he played linebacker at Ohio State from 2004 to 2008. But he’s not getting any extra emotional about returning to his alma mater.
According to Chase Brown of Eleven Warriors, Freeman said he’s “pretty emotionless” about returning to Ohio Stadium to face his former school.
“I’m pretty emotionless about going back to Ohio State, but we get to play a great team in a great hostile environment,” Freeman said, according to Brown. “Like any competitor, you get butterflies and excitement to play in a place like that.”
Despite these recent words to the media, Freeman has made multiple comments this offseason that Ohio State fans have interpreted as disrespect towards his alma mater. In December, shortly after he was named head coach of the Irish, Freeman insinuated that choosing to play football at Ohio State over Notre Dame was a mistake and said “I just thank God that I didn’t make the same mistake twice.”
Then in June, Freeman appeared to take a shot at Ohio State’s academics, suggesting that Notre Dame’s academics were more rigorous because players could not take online classes.
So while Freeman might be “emotionless” about his return to Ohio Stadium, it’s pretty clear that the Buckeye fans will not be quite as emotionless.
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