Max Bullough describes Notre Dame job as a ‘no brainer’

Max Bullough played for Michigan State but has always loved Notre Dame. Now, the 31-year-old NFL veteran is finally a member of the Fighting Irish.

In February, the program announced Bullough would join the staff as a graduate assistant. Before joining Notre Dame, Bullough was an analyst and graduate assistant at Alabama. Bullough will work with the Fighting Irish’s talented linebacker corps. The role has been a long time coming.

“A lot of people don’t know I grew up a Notre Dame fan,” Bullough said during a press conference on Saturday. “My dad’s family went to Michigan State. But, my mom went to Notre Dame. My grandfather played here and has been a donor here for a while. My uncle played here. Notre Dame has been a part of my history my whole life.

“I grew up going to Michigan State Games once a year and Notre Dame games once a year, so this place has been something special to me for a long time. When Coach Freeman gave me the call, it was a no-brainer for me,” Bullough said.

Notre Dame connections aside, Bullough is an excellent addition. While at Michigan State, Bullough earned All-Big Ten honors in 2011 (Second Team), 2012 (First Team) and 2013 (First Team). Additionally, the Michigan native was named a third-team All-American in his senior year.

Bullough ultimately recorded 299 tackles, 31 tackles for loss and eight sacks in his four years with the Spartans. While he went undrafted, Bullough quickly signed with the Houston Texans. He played in 30 games for the organization over three years, recording 56 career tackles.

Despite Bullough’s vast experience, he is impressed by Notre Dame’s culture.

“It’s the kids. It’s the players,” Bullough said. “It’s the quality of the people, both the staff and the players. I mean, it’s the difference between we got to go: ‘Alright, that’s enough, like pull it back a little bit.’ [Compared to] ‘We got to hammer this down a little bit.’ To me, that’s the biggest difference.”

While Bullough admires the players and his fellow staff, the transition hasn’t always been easy.

“To be honest, a lot of [the job] is trying to make sure I know the defense well enough to keep up with these guys. That’s what I was thinking about the most was making sure I was going through my head because it’s a smart group. It’s a smart group, and I wanted to make sure I was on my P’s and Q’s,” Bullough said.

With talented athletes such as JD Bertrand, Jack Kiser and Marist Liufau under his wing, Bullough has no shortage of smart players. While schemes and strategies are surely on Bullough’s mind, he’s simply grateful for the opportunity.

“My Grandpa Morris, Jim Morris, is extremely happy because he was waiting for years for one of me and my brothers or sisters to go to Notre Dame. We all went somewhere else obviously years ago, but no one was happier than my grandfather [for me to get this job]. I was very excited to give that to him while he’s still here,” Bullough said.