Marcus Freeman credits leadership of JD Bertrand, Jarrett Patterson

As Marcus Freeman took over Notre Dame in his first season as a college head coach, he turned toward the team’s leaders to help with his transition. That included players like linebacker JD Bertrand and offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson.

Now, Freeman has praised the pair for their leadership.

“That your culture, your leadership is really revealed when things aren’t going so well,” Freeman said. “I learned more about these two guys and our captains in the difficult times than I did during the times that things were going really well.”

Bertrand and Patterson are both captains for Notre Dame who were in the program before Freeman was even the team’s defensive coordinator. For Freeman, they’re key to maintaining and building a strong culture within the program.

“These guys continue to take control of this team. Sometimes as the head coach you feel like it’s everything you say to the team that’s going to get the culture, get this program where it needs to go. These guys do it. They take care of the messaging that needs to be said,” Freeman continued.

“I’m fortunate that I have a great group of leaders, that when things weren’t going so well, they really took care of the locker room.”

Marcus Freeman on finishing strong in a bowl win

Freeman knows that winning the Gator Bowl against South Carolina would be huge for the Notre Dame program, as he explained.

“Yeah, the most important thing is winning,” Freeman said.

“That’s going to give us the most momentum as we continue to look forward. As I told the players yesterday in our team meeting, our focus is right now. Our focus is finishing this season off right now in the right way. If you continue to focus on the future, think about the future, you’re going to lose the opportunity we have in front of us.”