There’s a history of Cincinnati influence in South Bend, including Kelly, who spent three seasons with the Bearcats before taking the Notre Dame job. A year before Kelly poached Freeman, he hired Bearcats defensive backs coach Mike Mickens, a Cincinnati alum who was a teammate of Freeman’s at Wayne High School outside of Dayton.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, raised in Protestant and Korean Christian traditions, made a life-changing decision after joining the Catholic university. Freeman converted to Catholicism in 2022,

One of the greatest linebackers to ever play football is incredibly impressed with Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame.