It has been a crazy season for Notre Dame with the beginning of the 2021 season starting off with a thrilling, but happy ending in Tallahassee. And just a week later the Irish found them self in the same spot against their group of 5 opponent Toledo, I will say this as a Notre Dame fan myself I will be honest I lost my mind that Notre Dame was losing and almost lost to Toledo if it wasn't for their QB walking into the enzone and giving Notre Dame a chance to get their own touchdown. But after two weeks of college football, Notre Dame is 2-0 and that is something that many College Football teams couldn't say.
Throughout the season Notre Dame countine to play in close game like Virginia Tech,
North Carolina, and USC. Right before those games Notre Dame lost their biggest game of the season against Cincinnati, even though this was a weird season and a crazy first 8 games Notre Dame flipped the switch in their last 4 regular season game with massive wins and massive leads.
When the season ended on November 27th nothing seemed out of the ordinary,but that same statement couldn't be made three days later. News that not only shock the Notre Dame fan base but also change the College Football world and the future of College Football with Brian Kelly shocking the world by heading to LSU. This wasn't the only major move effecting Notre Dame that weekend, Lincoln Riley decided to take the USC job and changed how Notre Dame fans thought of the rivalry.
After all the stress and devastation that Brian Kelly left in his wake to the Bayou. But in the end many Notre Dame fans seem to be happier and think that the Irish are in better shape because of it. And the reason for that is Notre Dame's new head coach Marcus Freeman, Marcus Freeman is the type of coach Notre Dame never gets or has. Marcus Freeman is only 36 years old with a 29 year old Offensive Coordinator and many other coach under 40 which was the opposite when you compare it with a 60 year old Head Coach. Freeman is also the recuriter that Notre Dame fans wished Kelly was and because of this Notre Dame fans are excited heading in an offseason in which they just lost another NY6 bowl and will play in the Horseshoe Week 1 next season. But though it all Notre Dame fan experience thoughout the season and even to the bowl game the craziness wasn't over.
Notre Dame coaching staff would have major changes to it with Special team coordinator Brian Polian leaving and the firing of Del Alexander WR Coach (to the left) and Jeff Quinn OL Coach. But those weren't even the most suprising coaching changes. The award would go to former Notre Dame DL coach Mike Elston leaving for his Alama Mater Michigan and just days after there are major rumors that Lance Taylor Notre Dame RB coach could be leaving for Louisville as their OC. Many people thought that this staff would take years before it was truely Marcus Freeman's staff, but it really would only take one offseason.
Marcus Freeman has now filled two of postions with hiring Baylor WR coach Chansi Stuckey for the same postion and Ohio State LB Al Washington for the DL coaching job. Now Notre Dame is just looking for a DC and the leading candidate Iowa State's DC Jon Heacock.
So after all that we have experienced as Irish fans this season and offeason, I think that I am more confindent then ever to say that Notre Dame is heading in the right direction and an example of this is Notre Dame's #1 recruiting class so far for the 2023 class. My hope for this new Notre Dame regime is that they can combine the sustained successful under Kelly and add elite recruiting to that to compete with Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia. So now I ask you is Notre Dame ready for this and is Marcus Freeman really the real deal that we all want him to be?
Comments