Scarlet Sunrise: Marcus Freeman calls backlash from comments toward Ohio State an 'eye-opening experience'

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise. Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Buckeyes football, recruiting, basketball and more in Scarlet Sunrise.

Marcus Freeman calls backlash from comments toward Ohio State an ‘eye-opening experience’

Long before Marcus Freeman was the head coach at Notre Dame, he was an Ohio State graduate assistant. And, years before that, he was an Ohio State linebacker from 2004-08 who started 37 games and played in a pair of national championship games.

But after he got the keys of the Notre Dame program, Freeman made some comments toward his alma mater that rubbed people in Columbus the wrong way, and understandably so.

Most notably, in a Player’s Tribune article addressed to Notre Dame, Freeman wrote, “I just thank God that I didn’t make the wrong decision twice.”

That came a paragraph after he wound back the clock and reflected on how his own recruitment boiled down to Ohio State and Notre Dame.

As a result, he was met with quite a bit of displeasure from Ohio State fans.

“That was an eye-opening experience for me, but I needed it,” Freeman told The Pivot Podcast. “You need to learn. You need those lessons to learn.

“I think about that The Player’s Tribune article. You kind of do it where you’re being interviewed, and they write it for you kind of like that. You’re thinking you’re talking to Notre Dame fans. You’re not thinking about anybody else other than Notre Dame fans. And they said, ‘Why did you choose Notre Dame?’ [I said], ‘Oh, man, I made a mistake. I don’t want to say no to Notre Dame twice.’ And poor choice of words because that’s all the people at Ohio State read was like, ‘Oh, you regret your decision to choose Ohio State.’ No. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without those years in Columbus, Ohio, and I value every part of that.

Freeman continued: “You gotta be careful of the things you say, the things you write and your interviews because it’s not just talking to a certain group. Everybody sees it, and everybody can take it a different way. And, so, that was a learning lesson. But if I would have never done that, I wouldn’t have learned it. So everything happens for a reason.”

Last year was Freeman’s first season as full-time Notre Dame head coach. The Fighting Irish began the year with a 21-10 loss at Ohio State.

Notre Dame and Ohio State will complete their home-and-home series on Sept. 23 under the lights of Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend.

Making three predictions about Buckeyes linebackers

Lettermen Row “Linebackers Week” is winding down. But, first, we’re making three predictions about Ohio State’s linebackers in 2023.

Just how good will Tommy Eichenberg be in his final season? What role will C.J. Hicks play in Year Two? Will we see an actual rotation in the second level this time around?

We get into all of that here. Don’t miss it, as we take a swing at one of the Buckeyes’s smallest but mightiest position groups entering this season.

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• Reviewing the top-three Tommy Eichenberg games from 2022

• Best-case, worst-case scenario for Buckeyes linebackers this season

• Examining 2023 Ohio State linebacker NIL valuations

Who’s next? Predicting next three potential commitments for Ohio State

Ohio State received a commitment from four-star Chandler (Ariz) Basha cornerback Miles Lockhart this week. The Buckeyes now have 18 pledges in its 2024 class, which currently ranks No. 2 in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Ohio State still has more work to do, however, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, where the Buckeyes have only six commits at the moment.

As we delve deeper into July, decision dates of top Ohio State targets loom.

Lettermen Row made three predictions about who might be the Buckeyes’ next three commits.

Check it out here.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 56 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 140 days

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