How Marcus Freeman & Co. turned St. Patrick's Day into a Notre Dame recruiting bonanza

Perhaps no college football program is better suited to market and publicize St. Patrick’s Day than that of Notre Dame.

OK, there’s no perhaps.

The Fighting Irish, replete with their green-and-gold colors, global reach and their intertwined leprechaun and shamrock imaging, are tailor-made to turn this holiday that pays homage to the life of St. Patrick.

Intro: Notre Dame’s ‘Pot of Gold’ day.

The brainchild of Marcus Freeman when he arrived as the Irish defensive coordinator a year ago and sought to very publicly and visibly enhance the recruiting profile, the day has blossomed into a masterclass on recruiting outreach, interpersonal connections and brilliantly executed social media videos in its second iteration, Freeman’s first as top Golden Domer.

“You look at, even the guys that we have committed in the ‘23 class right now, I think every one, if not then the majority of them, were offered on this day last year,” said Freeman. “It's a big day for us because we want to get a head start on the next recruiting class. We're still finishing our ‘23 class. But we'll start with 2024 today.

“It's a big day for us in terms of we're going to capitalize off of, obviously, it being St. Patty's Day, and we want those 24s to know they are special and this day is dedicated to them.”

After overseeing the Irish’s first spring practice early Thursday morning and then meeting with media, Freeman by the afternoon convened with all of his assistant coaches, recruiting staff, personnel and other key members of the football program to continue their day-long blitz.

As was key in Freeman’s ascension to the Notre Dame top job, when he declared in his introductory press conference that he would be the lead recruiter on every Irish prospect and already had forged pot-bunker deep relationships, Freeman has helmed the efforts on this day as well.

Every recruit being targeted by the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day will hear directly from the Notre Dame head coach, as well as multiple other members of the coaching staff.

New director of recruiting Chad Bowden, Freeman’s first staff addition upon his arrival last winter from Cincinnati, is the de facto digital air-traffic controller. He’s seamlessly integrating the necessary phone-call logistics as well as helping as Freeman, Tommy Rees, Bill Rees and others leverage the Irish’s past, present and future NFL alums, among other brand ambassadors.

Folks within the Irish program see in this year’s ‘Pot of Gold’ as “done collectively. It’s more unified. … NFL players want to make this a tradition.

“We’re the only program in the country that has a day like this,” Freeman said in a video posted to Notre Dame’s official football Twitter account. “A special day dedicated to celebrate the future legacies of Notre Dame football. We’re thinking bigger than we ever have. So stay tuned, because we’re just getting started.”