NBC play-by-play man Jac Collinsworth opens up about Freeman, Notre Dame football

When it comes to behind-the-curtain access and privy knowledge inside the Notre Dame football program, NBC play-by-play man Jac Collinsworth rates highly on the list of those in the know. 

A 2017 Notre Dame graduate, a 10-year member of the Fighting Irish broadcast team going back to his days as a student here, and the son of broadcast legend Cris Collinsworth, Jac is well-versed in all things Notre Dame. 

Jac Collinsworth opened up to Blue & Gold Illustrated on Friday to discuss the Notre Dame bowl game, the first year for rookie Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, and what to expect as Freeman moves his program forward. 

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Collinsworth explained how win or lose — and through myriad ups and downs this season — Freeman’s consistent conviction and calmness never wavered during their weekly pre-game roundtables.  

“The most impressive part to me was when we would go meet with Coach Freeman, he would always stay 100-percent true to who he was and what he was doing,” Collinsworth explained. “That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t evaluating things, and changing some things throughout the course of the week. But his positive nature in everything — the demeanor that the fans and all of us appreciate about him — he didn’t change any of it.”

Jac Collinsworth — whose older brother Austin Collinsworth played safety and was a special teams ace at Notre Dame from 2010-14 — has been entrenched as a media member with the Fighting Irish since 2013. 

And Jac explained that during his decade covering Notre Dame football in multiple roles and capacities, the difference between the program vibe under Freeman compared to that of former Irish skipper Brian Kelly is notable and noticeable. 

“Freeman’s style of leadership is very different than Kelly’s. Not for better or worse, I want to make the clear. Brian Kelly is a great coach,” Jac said and emphasized. “It’s just a different environment.” 

Never the blame game

Collinsworth detailed how after watching Freeman and Co. operate from behind the scenes this season, he appreciated how there’s always equitable accountability from the head coach, through the assistants, to the support staff, all the way down to the scout team players. And Collinsworth explained how Freeman’s message and methods never change, “instead of pointing fingers, look in the mirror.” 

“It’s this really positive environment,” Collinsworth shared. “And when you talk to the players about the coaching staff, it’s glowing and sincere across the board. And when you talk about Freeman, I’ve never heard so many people say these kinds of terrific things about their coach.”

Like most Fighting Irish faithful, Collinsworth also can’t help but to take both a glass-half-empty and a glass-half-full perspective to Freeman’s first regular season as a head coach. 

If Notre Dame beats Marshall and Stanford as it was expected to, “The USC game is a play-in game to the College Football Playoffs,” Collinsworth said. 

But, as they say, games are played on the field not on paper, so?  

“For me, Year 1 for Freeman will be remembered for losing to the two teams that should’ve been the guaranteed wins,” Collinsworth added. “But ultimately, the turnaround, and the run to the Clemson win, that is what’s going to give it a positive light and a bit of a boost going into Year 2.” 

And looking ahead to 2023, Collinsworth explained how he appreciated the efforts of former Irish starting quarterback Drew Pyne — who entered the transfer portal on Dec. 2 — especially after coming off the bench. But Collinsworth explained that if Notre Dame wants to run with the big dogs of college football, improvement at the quarterback position is non-negotiable. 

“My guess is this offseason, they’re going to go out and really try to find a quarterback,” Collinsworth theorized. “Now, if [junior to be] Tyler Buchner develops into something more than they thought, and he can come into his own this offseason, and he winds up blowing you away, that’s great. But I think you are going to see that quarterback room get really competitive and Coach Freeman have an active voice in the pursuit.”