Freeman has always been an elite recruiter but the bonds he builds with players and families help players come here and attracts some talented lost souls back here like Keeley.

Schools have missed in two directions in the NIL era. One is the "stick in the mud" mindset of Dabo. The other is the ultra-mercenary approach of TTU.

ND has managed to hit the sweet spot. Consider Price. What a perfect example to which to point. Yes, he could have gotten more NIL money at other schools. But Freeman (and others) convinced him that he was going to get paid at ND, get his degree, and be fine in the draft (getting drafted in the 1st round by the Super Bowl champs is a pretty good outcome).

Or how else could you keep a guy like Williams who was huge in the PSU game in the playoffs, barely played in 2025, but is ready to be RB1 right now?

Yes, some guys like Minchey are going to move on. I think that guy is a really good QB and will do well in his new home. Sure, it would be fabulous to have him on the roster as a back-up for Carr, but that's going to happen today, just as you'll never see another Steve Young backing up Joe Montana in the NFL.

He has managed the roster and the culture and he has also managed the assistant coach situation beautifully.

If we can get out of the gate without our shoelaces tied together this year, barring a severe injury bug I think we'll be in it to the end.

But I'll say it again. We have to beat Ohio State. We can't stand around hoping they get beat by someone else. The road to the national championship runs through OSU and we won't get one until we beat them fair and square.

--
"Somewhere in Middle America"

And owing to the slow start early last year, I feel like the average CFB fan has no idea how elite the team actually was, especially on defense. And even now being ranked 2 or 3 in most pre-season polls, I still think people are going to be surprised if/when it turns into a juggernaut. They’ll shout easy schedule, etc. and mostly be right but I think it’s gonna be a surprise.