Revisiting Marcus Freeman's Ohio State playing career: What to know about his position, NFL Draft pick and more

The 2025 National Championship game is set for Monday evening between Ohio State and Notre Dame in Atlanta. The Buckeyes are making a trip back to the title game for the first time in four seasons. The Fighting Irish haven't played in this game since 2012. 

Notre Dame's run to the national title game has been led by Marcus Freeman. The third-year Irish coach has led Notre Dame to a 14-1 season and is looking to bring the Irish to a national title for the first time since 1988. 

Freeman has been a college coach since 2010, starting at his alma mater, Ohio State, and spending time with Kent State, Purdue, and Cincinnati before landing at Notre Dame in 2021. Before he was a coach, though, he played college football in the mid-2000s at Ohio State. 

Let's take a look back at his collegiate career, if he played in the NFL, and how his playing days helped shape his coaching career.  

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Where did Marcus Freeman play college football?

Freeman played three seasons at Ohio State, from 2004-08, under head coach Jim Tressel. Coming out of Wayne High School in Dayton, Ohio, Freeman was a 4-star linebacker recruit. The 247Sports Composite ranked Freeman as the No. 5 overall linebacker recruit from the class of 2004 and the fourth-ranked prospect out of the state of Ohio.

Freeman signed to Ohio State's 2004 class, which was ranked 10th nationally. The class included Ted Ginn Jr., who was listed as a cornerback recruit. Ginn played receiver primarily for the Buckeyes, going on to play 14 seasons in the NFL.  

With the Buckeyes, Freeman's defense helped lead Ohio State to two BCS national title games in 2006 and 2007, the Buckeyes losing to Florida and LSU, respectively, in both of those games. During Freeman's last season in Columbus in 2008, Ohio State finished 10-3, losing to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.  

“It was 20 years ago, but I’m trying to picture him walking down the hall in the Woody Hayes Center, Tressel told The Sporting News' Bill Bender earlier this week. "He was always humble. He was always through. He was always aware. He was aware of other peoples’ needs, feelings, those kinds of things. Everyone wants to say, ‘Oh, you did a great job with Marcus,’ will his mom and dad did a great job with Marcus.”

What position did Marcus Freeman play?

Marcus Freeman played linebacker for three seasons at Ohio State. As a sophomore in 2005, he took a redshirt following an injury he suffered in the season-opener against Miami of Ohio.  

“In terms of this season, yes, from where we started,” Freeman said earlier this week when asked if it was a full-circle moment playing his alma mater in the title game. “You know, the start (with Texas A&M) and you know, the loss to Northern Illinois to now … we’re getting ready to play for the national championship, it’s full circle. This has nothing to do with the past and where I went to school. This is about this opportunity that lies right ahead of us.” 

Marcus Freeman college stats

Sports Reference only contains Freeman's stats from 2006-08. 2004 statistics obtained from Wikipedia. 

"Marcus was always a guy willing to do whatever the team needs," Tressel told TSN's Bender. "And he was a special teams guy even then.”

Marcus Freeman NFL Draft

Freeman was drafted in the fifth round by the Chicago Bears in 2009.  Coincidentally, the Bears are reportedly looking to interview Freeman for their head coach job 15 years later.   

Did Marcus Freeman play in the NFL?

Freeman's NFL career didn't last long. He was waived by Chicago on Sept. 4. He spent a brief stint on the Bills practice squad in 2009 and was signed by the Texans in Nov. of that year. On May 1, 2010, Freeman retired from football. After undergoing a physical with the Colts in February, it revealed an enlarged heart valve, thus ending his playing career. 

“It was hard to hear that football was being taken away, but life is much bigger than that for me,” Freeman told the Springfield News-Sun in 2010. “Sooner or later you’re going to be done. I have enjoyed playing the game since I was six years old. Even though I can’t play anymore I still have a love and a passion for it. I’ll just turn the page to the next chapter in my life.”

Shortly after he announced his retirement, Freeman's former Ohio State head coach, Jim Tressel, hired him as a graduate assistant on the Buckeyes' coaching staff. 

 "Coach (Jim) Tressel gave me the opportunity to be on the staff,” Freeman told the Springfield News-Sun newspaper. “It’s a lot different than playing, but it’s exciting because it gives me the chance to stay close to football. You feel like you’re a part of the team since playing football was taken away from me so quickly. Hopefully, one day I can become a coach.”

Freeman did, in fact, become a coach, and will be involved in the biggest game of the 39-year-old coach's career on Monday night. Although his NFL playing career didn't exactly pan out, it's safe to say he's found a home in coaching.