Marcus Freeman is at it again.
The former Ohio State linebacker who is now the head coach at Notre Dame has already made headlines in the past several months when he suggested that he made a mistake choosing to play for the Buckeyes over the Irish out of high school.
He's now drawn the ire of Buckeye fans yet again.
When discussing the academics at Notre Dame in an interview with CBS Sports, Freeman took an apparent shot at the academic rigor for an Ohio State football player, suggesting that if a player didn't want to go to class, he can just "take some online classes, show up for your appointments."
"I'm not saying from top to bottom, but the majority of our kids, they -- I want to say this the right way -- are pushed to learn and their study habits are formulated every day. You can't cheat academics at Notre Dame."
To make his point, Freeman brought up the two most significant football stops in this career before coming to Notre Dame in 2021. At Ohio State, Freeman played defensive back for Tressel, eventually becoming a fifth-round NFL Draft choice of the Chicago Bears. At Cincinnati, he earned a reputation as one of the nation's best defensive coordinators.
"You don't go to class [at places like that]?" Freeman said rhetorically. "OK, take some online classes, show up for your appointments. At Notre Dame, you're forced every day to go to class."
In a Wednesday appearance on 97.1 The Fan, Freeman claimed that he was "misquoted" by CBS Sports and that the quote should begin "if you don't go to class" instead of simply "you don't go to class," which he says changes the meaning of the quote.
However, Freeman did acknowledge that he was directly comparing the academic rigors of a small school like Notre Dame to that of bigger schools like Ohio State or Cincinnati. And he did seem to stick to his implication that Notre Dame was more rigorous because online classes are not typically offered.
These comments come months after Freeman implied that he regrets choosing the Buckeyes over the Irish out of high school, referring to his decision to sign with Ohio State instead of Notre Dame as “the wrong decision."
When he decided to become Notre Dame's next head coach, he said "I just thank God that I didn’t make the wrong decision twice."
Freeman's next game will be against Ohio State in Ohio Stadium. It was already going to be an intriguing homecoming for the former Buckeye linebacker, but these comments certainly add a little more fire.
