Marcus Freeman identifies young wide receivers ready to make a difference

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman figured out the quarterback position by bringing in transfer Sam Hartman to lead the offense. However, he needs someone to throw to on the outside — something the Irish have lacked in recent seasons.

Luckily for Notre Dame, there are several young players who Freeman is excited about.

“You’ve got to expect to see Jaden Greathouse and Rico Flores both play for us this year,” Marcus Freeman said. “I don’t consider Tobias [Merriweather] a young guy anymore, even though he’s only going into his second year, but those two young guys I would see having to help us immediately. They’ve shown the ability to do so in practice.”

Both Greathouse and Flores are freshmen, having been a part of the 2023 recruiting cycle. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, they were also both four-star recruits.

Marcus Freeman also mentioned Braylon James, another four-star recruit in 2023, as a young player who has been impressive. However, it doesn’t seem like he’s as far along as Greathouse or Flores.

“You know, Braylon James has had a good camp. We’ll see how that progresses with Braylon but I really think we’ll see Greathouse and Flores.”

This spring, Rico Flores shared how he was getting more comfortable at Notre Dame and within the offense.

“I wanted to get my feet wet, start learning the playbook and get familiar with the team,” Flores said. “It keeps you hungry every day. You can’t get comfortable or slack. The man to the left or right of you are working to your position.”

Marcus Freeman on extending the Notre Dame Under Armour deal

Recently, Notre Dame extended its apparel deal with Under Armour, reaffirming itself as one of college football’s biggest brands to wear Under Armour. Now, Marcus Freeman has shared his thoughts on that deal.

“The apparel deal. I’ve been in communication with Jack [Swarbrick] and I trust Jack’s work. And he’s going to do what’s best for Notre Dame. And that’s exactly what he’s done. I love Under Armour. I’ve been wearing it for a long time. We’ve got a lot of Under Armour clothes for our children at the house that I’d like to be able to keep,” Freeman said.

“So it’s been great, man. And Jack’s never going to put our athletic department in a bad situation. And that’s what he asked me. I said, ‘Jack, listen, I have no problem with Under Armour. I love Under Armour. And I know you’re going to do what’s right for our players and for athletic department.’ And that’s what he did.”