Why Marcus Freeman will do (almost) anything on social media to help Notre Dame
Thanks to the team at Fighting Irish Media (FIM), what was expected to be a relatively slow day in the college sports world turned into an all-eyes-on-Notre-Dame-football occasion.
On July 27, the Irish dropped their latest Shamrock Series uniforms for an Oct. 8 game against BYU in Las Vegas with a spoof on the 2009 movie “The Hangover.” Head coach Marcus Freeman, tight end Michael Mayer and defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey made the trip out to the desert for the video, and they were joined by Irish alums and media personalities Mike Golic. Sr. and Mike Golic Jr.
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It was a roaring success, due in large part to the fact that the head coach was involved. The video demonstrated the importance of relating to the younger population, particularly when it comes to recruiting. Freeman took a moment to comment on the topic on Friday following Notre Dame’s first day of fall camp.
“I have a team around me that understands if this will help this football program, I’m always going to say yes,” Freeman said. “I wasn’t begging to go out to Las Vegas and try to do a “Hangover” parody or do this green jersey thing, but when the Fighting Irish Media team comes and says ‘Hey, we’ve got a great idea. This is going to help out program.’ (I say) ‘Absolutely. Let’s go. Let’s do it.’”
The green jersey episode to which Freeman is referring is another in a line of FIM-inspired social media pushes. Notre Dame will wear the alternate jerseys against California on Sept. 17, and Freeman made the announcement via a social media video. It was complete with a little mockery of the fact that when Notre Dame has done “green-outs” in the recent past, the fans are expected to wear green. The team, however, has worn its normal navy home uniforms. That will change this fall.
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“So I would say for the most part (I would do) anything those individuals asked me to,” Freeman added. “I’m going to be willing to do it because I know if they asked me to do something, it’s going to help our football program.”
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Of course, it’s not all business. Freeman, who has stressed the importance of earning the trust of his players and building relationships, had the chance to bond with two potential 2023 first-round draft picks in Mayer and Foskey while out in the desert.
“It was also kind of fun to go out to Vegas and hang out with Mayer and Foskey,” Freeman said with a smile. “That was pretty fun.”
