Prior to embarking on a head coaching career at Notre Dame that has him among the highest-paid head coaches in college football, Marcus Freeman was a solid linebacker at Ohio State, where he was once teammates and then a graduate assistant coach of Pittsburgh Steelers star defensive lineman Cameron Heyward.
During their time together as teammates from 2007-08, Heyward and Freeman developed a relationship as two key defensive pieces for the Buckeyes. That relationship grew in 2010 when Freeman’s NFL career with the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills came to an end due to injury.
Freeman became a graduate assistant at OSU for the 2010 season under head coach Jim Tressel, and during that season, Heyward left a lasting impression on him.