Pete Thamel: Marcus Freeman has ‘made Notre Dame cool’ for recruits, transfers

While Marcus Freeman wasn’t able to lead Notre Dame to a win in the National Championship, he did wonders for the program’s future this season. After the Fighting Irish’s loss to Ohio State on Monday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel revealed how Freeman has solidified a bright future for Notre Dame.

“They have stars coming back,” Thamel said. “Their corners are young. Jeremiyah Love could be one of the faces of college football next year. They’re going to figure something out at quarterback. That’s going to be a little bit of a question, but their whole O-line, essentially, is going to come back.

“They had a bunch of guys that played because of injuries like that’s going to be a really good college football team next year and for the foreseeable future. And I think this season and postseason, Marcus Freeman has established himself as one of the faces of the future. They will be title contenders. They will be consistent playoff contenders. And he’s made Notre Dame cool.”

For many years, Thamel’s final words would’ve been inconceivable to college football fans, who viewed Notre Dame as an excellent but old-school program. Now, with 39-year-old Freeman calling the shots, South Bend is a premier destination for young talent.

Anybody can see this just by looking at Notre Dame’s transfer portal success. This past offseason, Freeman brought in top talent such as Riley Leonard. Before Notre Dame’s season even ended on Monday night, eight players had already committed to the Fighting Irish in the transfer portal, hopeful to find similar success.

Freeman is making waves in the high school ranks, as well. Notre Dame currently boasts the No. 12 class in the 2025 recruiting cycle and the No. 11 class for the following year, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Thamel believes the 2024 campaign will be looked back on as a pivotal moment for Notre Dame.

“There is juice there that hadn’t been there,” Freeman said. “They also have their collective stuff in order. Like, there’s some of that stuff that’s like real at Notre Dame right now. Look, they were 8.5-point underdogs. They lost a two-score game. I feel like the game played out a bit like it should have. I was surprised that they came back.”