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Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman has advice for NFL Draft prospects

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•04/26/22•

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notre dame marcus freeman
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was selected in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft as a linebacker out of Ohio State. (Left: Chad Weaver/BGI; Right: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Marcus Freeman has been there, done that.

The former Ohio State linebacker and current Notre Dame head coach has to go back 13 years to relive his NFL Draft experience, but in some ways he remembers it like it was yesterday. The professionally-prepped meals. The “all-day” workouts. The NFL Combine. Pro day. There is so much that went into him getting selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 154 overall pick in the fifth round.

Of course, the three-year Ohio State starter thought he’d hear his name called much sooner.

“Every guy that is about to get drafted, I tell them all the same thing: you’re never going to go as early as you think unless you’re the first pick of the draft,” Freeman told the Inside the Garage podcast. “The guy who goes second thought he might go first. So you’re always waiting.”

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Freeman ran a 4.74-second 40-yard dash at the combine, which ranked eighth among participating linebackers. His 37-inch vertical jump ranked first, though, and so too did his 4.12-second 20-yard shuttle. His 30 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press also tied for first.

But sometimes, one outlying statistic can change the course of an entire player’s draft — even if that number is improved upon at pro day. Freeman ran a 4.51-second 40 in Columbus. Former Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton is in a similar situation. He ran a 4.59 at the combine and a 4.56 at pro day. Neither time is particularly fast for his position.

Notre Dame football post-spring depth charts

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• Defense

Subsequently, many mocks have him falling out of the top 10 overall when prior to the testing period it was widely believed he could go somewhere in the top five. But such is the life of an NFL Draft hopeful. Whether you’re a surefire first-rounder, a second day hopeful or on the fringe of being drafted altogether it rarely plays out exactly how you’d have liked it to.

Ask Freeman. Then ask him if it was worth it.

“No matter when you get your name called, when you get drafted it’s the biggest relief,” Freeman said. “I remember sitting there. Second round? Nope. Third round? Nope. Fourth round? Nope. What is going on? Did my name get taken out of there or what?

“Somebody might come in here and say, ‘Hey, you might be a second round pick.’ So that’s all you’re thinking. You’re going to tell yourself, ‘That’s where I’m going.’ But you never know. I’ll never forget when the Bears called me in the fifth round. It was such a sigh of relief.”

Freeman’s advice for likely third-day draftees like himself?

“Find something to do. You just sit there and watch names getting picked, watch names getting picked. It’s a long process. Then the work begins when you hear your name get called because you’ve got to go make a team. And there are hungry dudes in the NFL, and you got to go beat them out.”

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