ESPN is pulling no punches in its coverage of the national championship game between Indiana and Miami at the latter’s field on January 19. The College GameDay has had a wide range of guests throughout the season, and the natty will be no different.

Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman will join College GameDay as a guest analyst ahead of Monday night’s Indiana vs. Miami national title clash. The show confirmed the news on Friday, and it’s an easy win for the broadcast.

Freeman will join the show’s regular cast, led by Rece Davis, with Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, and Nick Saban on the panel. Freeman will be able to offer in-depth insight on both teams, having coached against them recently as Notre Dame faced Indiana during last season’s CFP run and opened this year against Miami in Week 1.

There’s also a deeper layer to his presence in Miami. Freeman is coming off a massive new deal running through 2031, worth a reported $70.8 million, that established his status among the highest-paid coaches in college football. Even before the deal, the head coach remained clear about returning to South Bend next year.

“I’m the head coach at Notre Dame,” Freeman said. “I’ve said this before, but recognition, individual success, NFL interest, those are all reflections of team success and where this football program is. I’ve used some of the interest from the NFL to personally gain wisdom from maybe some of the GMs or the front office executives that you get a chance to talk to about your players, but also about what they view as a successful coach. Maybe it’s an NFL coach, but what are some of the things they’ve seen that make a coach successful in their organization?

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“So I utilize these opportunities through conversations to be the best coach I can be of the Notre Dame football program. Again, that’s where my mindset is and I don’t control the noise, but I know the noise that’s in my head and where my focus is.”

Even with the spotlight and the noise of national attention, Freeman’s focus was recently tested off the field as well.

Wrestling controversy

What started as a routine family outing quickly turned into one of the most unexpected headlines. A heated argument between coaches turned into a police report involving Marcus Freeman, who was at the Al Smith Wrestling Invitational, cheering on his son, Vinny, a star senior at Penn High.

Notre Dame Athletics quickly put an end to the noise, strongly denying that any physical contact had occurred. Prosecutors later confirmed there would be no charges, citing insufficient video evidence.

“First of all, I wanna thank Notre Dame for their support and immediate response to this matter,” Freeman said during a press conference. “I’m grateful for their trust and defense of me even before the video evidence was released. I also want to thank the Penn High School administration, the community, and countless others who have reached out to my family.

“I want to commend the journalists who handled their reporting with integrity. I know many of you in this room were aware of the situation as it was unfolding, and I appreciate your patience and not rushing to report without having all the facts and information.”

Amid the drama, the spotlight also fell on Vinny Freeman, whose journey to Cornell wrestling is a result of hard work and discipline. From dominating the mat with a 104–17 record to balancing academics and athletics with a 3.89 GPA, Vinny has carved out a path of his own.

After a tense few days off the field, Freeman is back, bringing his insight to College GameDay ahead of the national championship.