Marcus Freeman shares pregame emotions during mic'd up conversation at 'The Horseshoe'

First-year Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman shared his candid emotions about how it felt to return to The Horseshoe as a visitor. Freeman was mic’d up before the game and the broadcast caught a conversation between him and the officials for tonight’s season opener — as Freeman admitted it was more different than he expected.

The new Notre Dame coach starred as a linebacker at Ohio State from 2004-08, and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft as a Buckeye.

Marcus Freeman shares thoughts and emotions returning during pregame

“It’s weird, I was telling Chris, I said I was here three years ago at Cincinnati,” shared Freeman with the officials. “I said, it’s a little bit different coming in here as the head coach with Notre Dame. You know what I mean? It’s a little bit different, I didn’t think it was gonna be that much.”

Freeman has had plenty of career experience coaching following his Ohio State career, even after spending the 2010 season as a graduate assistant with the Buckeyes. After stints at Kent State and Purdue as a coach, he accepted the defensive coordinator position with Cincinnati in 2017 — where he last made a trip to Ohio State as an opponent.

Despite that experience, even Freeman had to admit that being the opposing head coach against a school he used to star for was an incredible experience.

Freeman and the Fighting Irish jumped out to a first-half lead behind incredible defense, holding Ohio State to single-digit points for just the second time ever with CJ Stroud as quarterback — leading 10-7 at the break.

However, the second half was a much rougher experience for the former Ohio State star. Ohio State held Notre Dame scoreless for the remainder of the game, winning 21-10 after a pair of huge touchdown drives. Despite the loss, Notre Dame showed some of the promise and toughness that Freeman hopes to bring to the program this season.