Jim Tressel sums up Marcus Freeman vs. Ohio State national title matchup with poignant text to Kirk Herbstreit

The national championship tonight is more complicated for Marcus Freeman than anyone else with him as the coach of Notre Dame who’ll be playing none other than his alma mater in Ohio State. Someone who’ll win either way, though, is Freeman’s former head coach in Jim Tressel.

On ‘College GameDay’ ahead of the national title game, Kirk Herbstreit revealed a text that Tressel sent him earlier about his player being the opposing head coach tonight against Ohio State.

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“He texted me today – ‘Buckeyes versus a Buckeye. What a night,'” Herbstreit said.

That came after Rece Davis set it up by noting that Tressel would likely be cheering for both teams in some sense come kickoff this evening in Atlanta.

“Marcus, of course, very close with his college coach, Jim Tressel, who I’m told will be sitting in the Ohio State athletic director’s box tonight. But I bet there’ll be a little piece of Tress’ heart, right in the middle underneath the sweater vest someplace, that’ll feel really good for Marcus Freeman,” said Davis.

Herbstreit also credited Tressel for the impact that he had on the coach that Freeman has become now with the Fighting Irish.

“It’s gone up from that point on. It’s the winning, it’s the look, it’s the vibe – it’s the total package and I think Jim Tressel has a lot to do with, you know, the way he kind of engages with his players on a day-to-day basis,” added Herbstreit.

Freeman, who actually chose Ohio State over Notre Dame among others as a recruit out of Dayton, was a Buckeye for five years from 2004 to 2008. He lettered for four seasons in Columbus and posted 264 tackles, six sacks, and two interceptions and forced fumbles apiece on their defense. Over that time, specifically from 2006 to 2008, Ohio State went 33-6, won three championships in the Big Ten, and played for a pair of national titles, each of which ended in losses, in the BCS in ’06 and ’07.

Then, after a short career in the NFL, Freeman returned to his college where he spent a year as a grad assistant. That would start a coaching career that would take him to three other programs before arriving in South Bend where, after one season as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, he’d become a head coach for the first time with them in 2021.

Over his three seasons there, Freeman has now faced his former school twice with each being losses. They lost his first-ever regular season game at 21-10 in The Shoe in ’22 before the Buckeyes came to them and won on a walk-off rushing score to take it at 17-14 in ’23. That means he is now three-for-three in playing against his previous program in which he played for while as a head coach – but with tonight’s being the biggest game for either in the title game of the College Football Playoff.

There are likely several mixed emotions involved tonight with the connection between Freeman and Ohio State over the past two decades. Still, Tressel will get to root for both sides as his former team and one of his former players meet for it all tonight.