Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2026 11 UNDER THE DOME Irish On Social Media 20th 20th Is where Notre Dame football coach MARCUS FREEMAN was ranked on The Athletic's list of the 40 most admired leaders in sports in 2025, which was voted on by a panel made up of Hall of Fame coaches from the col- legiate and pro ranks and assistant coaches from all levels of college and professional sports, cur- rent and former professional players, leadership experts and executives. "We picked the phrase 'most admired' because it is intentionally vague," The Athletic noted. "You don't have to know someone to admire them. You can also admire leaders for different reasons: The way they communicate, the way they handle adver- sity or the spotlight, and, of course, their success." Freeman was the top college football coach on the list, ahead of Oregon's Dan Lanning (No. 30) and Curt Cignetti (No. 37). Ohio State's Ryan Day was the only other college football coach to receive multiple votes, but he did not make the top 40. "At just 39, Freeman is 43-12 as the head coach at Notre Dame, growing into one of the new charis- matic faces of college football," The Athletic wrote. 70.0 70.0 Percent blue-chip ratio — the percentage of four-star and five-star players in a recruit- ing class — for Notre Dame football's 2026 haul, per the Rivals Industry Team Rank- ings. That ranked second in the country, behind only Texas A&M (70.37, 19 of 27) and just ahead of Oregon (69.57, 16 of 23). The Irish were only 15th in the country in that category in 2025 at just 56.0 percent (14 of 25). They were also just 15th in 2024 at 56.52 percent (13 of 23). Notre Dame was fifth in 2023 at 78.26 percent (18 of 23) and fifth in 2022 at 77.27 (17 of 22) in head coach Marcus Freeman's first two full recruiting cycles. Signing three Rivals Industry five-stars proved to be the separator with this year's group. In the previous four cycles combined, Freeman landed only one Rivals Industry five-star. CLASS OF 2026 BLUE-CHIP RATIO Per Rivals Industry Ranking Rk. School 5-Stars 4-Stars Total Commits Blue Chip Ratio 1. Texas A&M 1 18 27 70.37% 2. Notre Dame 3 18 30 70.00% 3. Oregon 4 12 23 69.57% 4. LSU 2 10 18 66.67% 5. Georgia 1 20 32 65.63% 6. Florida 0 13 20 65.00% 7. Miami 1 19 31 64.52% 8. Ohio State 2 16 28 64.29% 9. Southern Cal 2 20 35 62.86% 10. Texas 3 12 24 62.50% He puts players first, focusing on developing the whole person rather than just the athlete. By clearly articulating his vision and living it every day, he has built a championship culture that players believe in and are eager to be part of." — Former Notre Dame women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw on why she admires Marcus Freeman