Marcus Freeman explains how he will evaluate Steve Angeli in bowl game

Notre Dame starting quarterback Sam Hartman decided to opt out of the Sun Bowl, instead preparing for a potential NFL career. This has forced head coach Marcus Freeman to start Steve Angeli in the bowl game.

Ahead of that game, Freeman explained that evaluating Angeli might be difficult, given that there are numerous changes to the Irish offense beyond the quarterback position.

“I think we have to be aware of you are gonna have two tackles out there,” Marcus Freeman said. “You’re gonna have two new running backs in the backfield, Audric [Estime] is not playing. So, we’re understanding of that.”

Notre Dame has been plagued by players opting out ahead of the Sun Bowl. On the offensive side that includes Sam Hartman, Audric Estime, Joe Alt, and Blake Fisher. The Irish also have had several transfers, like Chris Tyree and Rico Flores Jr, as well as a change at wide receivers coach.

As Marcus Freeman explained, that means it’s going to be vital for the coaches to put the players in a position to succeed.

“Our thing is, is more than the evaluation, it’s putting him in a position to try to have success. And that’s our job as coaches is we’ll get to the evaluation after the game. What we want to do is make sure we’re putting Steve in a position to have success as our quarterback as we go into this game.”

Notre Dame will play Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. Just like the Irish, the Beavers are going through numerous changes, including at the head coach position. The Irish opened as a 10.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel. However, since then, the line has moved and Notre Dame is now only a 6.5-point favorite.

Marcus Freeman addresses Sam Hartman opting out of Notre Dame’s bowl game

Marcus Freeman also addressed Sam Hartman’s decision to opt out of the Sun Bowl, explaining that it was Hartman’s decision but that he ultimately supports him.

“Yeah, you’ll have to ask Sam. He made the decision that he’s gonna opt out and he talked to the people that he felt are important in his life and made a decision that he felt was best for him,” Freeman said.

“And as I’ve told all of the guys that have opted out, I can disagree with your decision and still support you. That’s the same thing I told Sam and every single other one that opted out. I disagree. I think you should play, but I love you, and I support you and you’re gonna do great things.”