Notre Dame has “momentum” under first-year coach Marcus Freeman, but will it continue?

At 3:40 pm on a summer Saturday afternoon, Marcus Freeman checked his live schedule with a staff member “Are we okay?” – before exiting the interview room at Notre Dame Stadium.

Football is essential in this section. That’s very important.

The fans stood two and three away in front of the stadium doors. On a day like May, it feels a lot like September.

Freeman is out of the interview room and into the next phase of his first season as head coach of Notre Dame, where there’s always something ahead — press, meetings, conferences. After 15 spring drills ending in a century of “game” – if there is such a thing, even if it may be won for the first time without wasting time…forever – things get very interesting for Freeman. This is the most significant football gap in his first season without hiring staff. There is no training plan. No movies to watch from the office that day. Much momentum has been built around this part of the program since December. It cannot be lost in June, July, and August.

For the past three months, this college football program just opened in early January. Mention another name that doesn’t treat access as a four-letter word. Or taboo. He’s open as usual. Do you want to talk to the first-year students enrolling mid-year and promoting graduates? Of course, we can, even if it’s unheard of and impossible in previous seasons.

What about every member of Freeman’s team, most of whom had never trained at Notre Dame before the Spring Party? Yes, hang out with them. When the spring internship begins, the university sends several members from each position group to meet with the media. Two and three and sometimes four boys at once. To the media, it’s like Thanksgiving dinner every day. How to do it for Thanksgiving; we often overeat.

It’s about the new energy, the “vibe” about a program that doesn’t seem to be moving with former coach Brian Kelly if you read between the lines. What happened to this man?