Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 PRESEASON 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED A t a time when many football coaches around the country practically put their players on summer lockdown, and limit what kinds of off-field activities they partake in to guard against freak injuries, Marcus Freeman is taking a different course. How Freeman handles his players during the offseason was unveiled July 31, when the fourth-year Irish head coach spoke to reporters on the first day of training camp and was asked about the status of sophomore offensive lineman Charles Jagusah. Set to become the starting right guard this fall, Jagusah broke the humerus bone in his left arm July 5, in a UTV accident while vacation- ing with about a dozen teammates in Wyoming. The knee-jerk reaction for Free- man could've been to bubble wrap his players and ban them from any po- tentially dangerous offseason activities, moving forward. Instead. "We preach unit strength. That's unit strength. You've got guys together hang- ing out," said Freeman, celebrating the fact that his players stayed tight during sum- mer break. "… I want them to hang out together, have fun and become a team. That's probably more important than any- thing else. Part of becoming a team takes relationships and spending time together." With many top college players now making six- and even seven-figure "sal- aries" through NIL, it's understandable why many coaches want to limit offsea- son activities to protect their investments. But, "I don't want to ban them from having fun. I don't want to do that," Freeman said. A NEW NORM Unintentionally, Jagusah's unfortu- nate injury and Freeman's player-first reaction to it provided a glimpse into why this program — and its expecta- tions — have reached heights not seen since Lou Holtz left the building. Fair or not, following Notre Dame's run to the national championship game last season, anything short of another playoff berth in 2025 would be consid- ered a disappointment. And in reality, with three postseason wins in 2024, maybe anything short of a repeat performance this season will feel like a shortfall, and Freeman knows it. "The players understand that we try to stop talking about that '24 year," Freeman said. "This season is about the 2025 team and this journey to accom- plish reaching our full potential." The good news is that Freeman and his entire program seem well positioned to handle the added pressure that will shroud this year's journey and the seasons to follow. Recruiting is on a roll. Entering August, Rivals had Notre Dame ranked No. 3 nationally with its 26-man, 2026 recruiting class, and is laying the ground- work for another elite group in 2027. The roster hasn't been this deep since the early 1990s when Coach Holtz sent nearly 50 players to the NFL between 1990-94. The university is all in, spending millions on assistant coaches and a new football general manager. Con- struction is progressing nicely on the 150,000-square-foot, $100 million state-of-the art facility upgrades. And finally, Notre Dame is more than keeping up financially with the big state schools in this NIL era when many thought this little pri- vate university in northern Indiana couldn't keep up. Freeman's deliberate and smart additions while working the trans- fer portal, his terrific hiring deci- sions and staff management, quick player development, and a grow- ing confidence in his mission and methods are a few other areas that have put Notre Dame on the verge of winning its first national cham- pionship in 37 years. "My job is to make sure every- body in our building — every coach, every player, every staff member — understands the value of team," Freeman said. When news of the Jagusah injury was first learned, it would have been easy for Freeman to worry about his team and offensive line first, and the player later. But that's not how he's wired. "My reaction was devastation for the young man," Freeman shared. "It's not, oh, my God, we just lost our starting right guard. It's a care for that person that's gone through a lot." In this me-first era of player relocation and NIL gratification, Freeman has kept a steady course and stayed true to the Notre Dame commitment to excellence on the field, in the locker room, and in the classroom. The challenge now for Freeman is to apply the lessons learned from last season in order to clear the high bar he has set for the program heading into the 2025 opener at Miami Aug. 31. "I have a strong belief that your past creates the foundation for your pres- ent," Freeman explained in the spring. "We have to use the good and the bad that we went through last year to make sure that our foundation as a football program in 2025 is higher than it was in 2024." It's not an easy task, but it's one Free- man's program is ready to embark upon. ✦ Head coach Marcus Freeman said, "This season is about the 2025 team and this journey to accomplish reaching our full potential." PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com. UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Notre Dame Ready For A Repeat Run, And Then Some