Marcus Freeman says linebackers stood out in Notre Dame's spring game

There was a lot to keep your eyes on this weekend during Notre Dame’s spring game. The Fighting Irish’s roster and staff went through some changes that will have an effect during Marcus Freeman’s second season as head coach. Of all that was put on display, though, what caught the head man’s eyes the most?

From what he said on the game’s broadcast on Peacock, he thought it was the linebackers. Freeman pointed out the depth of the position as what impressed him considering who in their room missed the game and how the substitutes still performed.

“I think the linebackers have done a good job. I see a lot of pressuring, and a lot of guys without experience, right?,” said Freeman. “JD Bertrand was out, and Marist (Liufau) was out pretty early. But to see (Jaylen) Sneed and (Nolan) Ziegler, some of these young guys out here making some plays? It’s been really good to see.”

Ziegler was named as a standout in the Blue-Gold game by Todd Burlage. He described the sophomore as ‘all over the field’ as he finished with a game-high 10 tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss. Of the linebackers to see more time in this opportunity, it’s fair to say Ziegler advantage of his chance the most.

Burlage also listed freshman Preston Zinter as a standout after finishing with six tackles and two tackles for loss. In total, that’s three linebackers Freeman and Burlage named that all made impacts and who are all listed as underclassmen on the Irish’s roster.

That speaks volumes about where that room is at the moment and where it could be in the future. There seemed to be a lot to like in South Bend this weekend but, in Freeman’s opinion, he gave that position the edge at the end of the day.

Freeman shares how he has evolved as Notre Dame’s head coach

The Marcus Freeman era didn’t get off to a great start in his first season as Notre Dame’s coach. A home loss to Marshall followed a defeat against Ohio State in the opener before Freeman got his first victory as a head coach against Cal.

A lot has changed since. Notre Dame finished the year 9-2 after those back-to-back losses out of the gate. Now, back for his second year at the helm, Freeman said he has evolved in the role. As great as it is to get results right away, he pointed to the process it takes to get where he wants to go. That’s been his biggest takeaway of his first two offseasons at the helm.

“I think the biggest thing is understanding it’s a progression of where you want to go to,” Freeman said during Saturday’s Blue and Gold spring game. “We all want perfection now, we want perfection yesterday. We have to really look at it in a big-picture point of view and are we improving? You look at it within a day. Are we improving? It’s not just the outcome of every single drill, every single rep. Are we getting improvement from both sides of the ball? And that’s what I want to make sure our team, our coaches and our players understand. It’s all about constant improvement.

“Sometimes the outcome can lie to you,” added Freeman. “If they understand that, then I think we’ll continue to find a way to improve. Even if the outcome’s good, right? We can’t let a positive outcome kind of muddy up our eyes, in terms of did we improve? Did we do exactly what we’re supposed to do? Because ultimately, that’s what’s going to result in the success you want.”