Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1511802
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 25, 2023 15 tor when he wasn't much more than an afterthought in the Notre Dame line- backer pecking order. "He had very few reps in 2020, and I remember he was one of the first guys who reached out to me and asked me to meet," Freeman said. They met then. And they've met hun- dreds of times since then. Freeman said he frequently uses his fifth-year gradu- ate student as an example for younger players. If you want to know how to go from standing on the sideline to lead- ing the team in tackles three years in a row, which is exactly what Bertrand has done, then look no further than the man himself. Bertrand is the exemplar of commit- ment. "There is no Notre Dame defense in the last two years without JD," graduate student corner Cam Hart said. "He is the standard, and he's the guy that we try to emulate. I don't have anything bad to say about JD." How could you? He went from 7 tackles in 2020 to a team-leading 102 in 2021. He paced Notre Dame with 82 in 2022, and through 10 games in 2023 he set the bar with 63. You know those cringey "Does this guy really love football?" stories that al- ways seem to pop up around draft time? You're never going to get one of those with Bertrand. His rise to model of con- sistency came from putting in the time. "JD plays with a tremendous physi- cality, tremendous production," Free- man said. "He gives you everything he has. You always appreciate a guy that plays the game and sacrifices his body no matter how he feels." It's about more than football with Bertrand, though. He earned coveted team captaincy not solely for what he does on Saturdays but also for what he does each Friday before home games. On game day eve, it's off to the local hospital in South Bend to visit patients with rare diseases. Bertrand has been Notre Dame's chapter leader of Uplifting Athletes, an organization harnessing the power of sport to build a community that invests in the lives of people impacted by rare diseases, since 2019. His reverence for community service commenced when he was 3. He ta g ge d a l o n g w i t h h i s m o m on lunch deliveries for those in need through the Must Ministries organi- zation. As an Eagle Scout, Bertrand continued his commitment to the com- munity. At Notre Dame, even with an extracurricular as time-consuming as Division I college football, Bertrand's good works have only intensified. He wouldn't be the man he is without them. Bertrand said his Friday trips to the hospital put everything in perspective. He'll be remembered by the masses as the guy in blue and gold who totaled all those tackles. But if he's remembered by the rare disease patients he reached out to and their families as the man who helped them get through the most dif- ficult time of their lives, then there is something much more rewarding in that than any feeling that could ever come from a big victory. "It's been super special," Bertrand said. "I know I have this platform and I know people look up to us just because we play football. But to go see a group of local rare disease patients and bringing along our players where we have those interactions that we put a smile on their face, they put a smile on our face, it's been really cool." When you look back on Bertrand's ca- reer and all of the photos of him next to Freeman surface, you'll remember those don't exist just because he was one of Freeman's right-hand men on the field in the early years of the coach's time at Notre Dame. You'll remember Bertrand is just as much of a Notre Dame man as Freeman, and it doesn't get any more Notre Dame than that. Wuerffel Trophy semifinalist. Camp- bell Trophy finalist. The former is given to the most impactful college football leader in community service. The latter is awarded to the college football player with the best combination of academic, community service and on-field per- formance. It's commonly referred to as the "Academic Heisman." Who else but Bertrand to be up for such honors? "He will always be the standard for me in terms of how to prepare, how to improve, how to work," Freeman said. "And then off the field, he is such a self- less person. … He is just a great example of the total student-athlete." ✦ "JD plays with a tremendous physicality, tremendous production. He gives you everything he has. You always appreciate a guy that plays the game and sacrifices his body no matter how he feels." FREEMAN ON BERTRAND