Notre Dame football: Why Marcus Freeman should rely Drew White - Slap the Sign

The Notre Dame football team got an elite addition to the coaching staff in Marcus Freeman, and he should rely on Drew White in 2021.

Recently, new Notre Dame football defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman shared praise for the 5th year senior linebacker, Drew White. Of course, as any fan of the Irish knows, it’s easy to love Drew White. So, maybe it isn’t surprising that Freeman would show him some love.

After all, he started last season as a preseason All-Independent and third-team All-ACC linebacker, serving as a vital leader on a great defense.

He’ll need to continue to be vital to the Notre Dame defensive effort in 2021, but not necessarily because he’s the best player on that side of the ball. After all, Kyle Hamilton is largely known as the best player on the Notre Dame football team. The defensive line, behind players like Isaiah Foskey and Kurt Hinish, is the best unit on the defense. Even fellow linebackers Bo Bauer and Jack Kiser are thought of as better athletes than Drew White is.

So, what is it about Drew White that makes him so special for Notre Dame football?

It’s more than that he’s an experienced player who works as hard as anyone, and while that is true and he is great, it’s that he’s a prototypical leader for a defense. He’s a sure tackler who is always in position, and even if there are more naturally talented players around him, he can still stand out among them.

This is incredibly important in the modern college game for a few reasons. First and foremost, this is the era of the RPO. It’s an offensive scheme that tends to put good linebackers in a blender. Stop the run, they throw over your head. Drop into coverage, and it’s coming up the gut. In some cases, you can stop the run inside, before they pull it outside.

In other words, you almost always choose the wrong answer, and that’s before you consider how difficult it is to consistently tackle the caliber of athlete that Notre Dame goes up against every week.

The truth is that Marcus Freeman is going to need to lean on Drew White’s experience. He has a deep enough defensive line and linebacking group to rotate everyone in and out, keeping the Irish legs fresh, but White shouldn’t ever leave the field.

There are a handful of reasons for this. For one, Freeman is a new coach who needs the defense to learn his scheme. This is decidedly unique from Clark Lea’s in that Lea was more play-driven, while Freeman is more about putting players into space on the field to make a play. The little things, like alignment, are going to be vital this season, and it falls on Drew White to do those things.

Furthermore, in the case of struggles defensively, it’s going to be on senior leaders like Drew White to make sure the team stays on track with Freeman’s messaging. Even if the defense doesn’t lose a beat, though, having them stay focused while getting a lot of contribution is going to be important coming from White.

Drew White is a fan favorite, and one of Marcus Freeman’s favorites, for a reason. Now, he and Freeman are going to need to make sure they’re on the same page to make the transition as painless as possible in 2021.

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July 24, 2021 at 11:05PM
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Notre Dame football: Why Marcus Freeman should rely Drew White - Slap the Sign
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