When Marcus Freeman left the University of Cincinnati for the Notre Dame defensive coordinator job after the 2020 season, UC coach Luke Fickell replaced him a with a name many in Ohio know: Tressel.
But it wasn't Jim Tressel, the former head coach at Ohio State who led the Buckeyes to the 2002 BCS National Championship. It was his nephew, Mike.
Mike Tressel has helped lead the Bearcats to the 2021 College Football Playoff, where they faced Alabama on Dec. 31 in the 2021 Cotton Bowl.
The defense has been the Bearcats signature unit this season led by a pair of star defensive backs in Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner and Jim Thorpe Award winner Coby Bryant.