Ohio State Football: Marcus Freeman backtracks on comments

Marcus Freeman was a good linebacker when he played for the Ohio State football program in the late 2000s. He seemed to enjoy his time with the Buckeyes while he was in Columbus. That’s what makes his recent comments about the program so odd.

Yesterday, he took a shot at the academics, implying that Ohio State football players don’t go to class. It was the second time he’d made disparaging comments toward the football program. Today, he backtracked those comments and claimed he was misquoted.

In an interview with Morning Juice on 97.1 the Fan this morning, Freeman claims that he was misquoted in that CBS Sports interview. He claims that he was saying if students at Ohio State don’t go to class, they can still show up for their final and take it. He was trying to emphasize that’s not the case at Notre Dame.

Freeman also claims that he would never disrespect the Ohio State football program in any way and that he loved his time with the Buckeyes. Throughout the interview, he seemed pretty adamant about his love for the program despite his recent comments.

Based on what he’s said in public, I’m not sure if I believe Freeman or not. This is his first time being a head coach and he’s doing so at a major program, so there is a chance that he is just getting caught up in making some minor mistakes that he’s not used to making.

Freeman is still learning how to navigate the media landscape as the face of a major college football program. I’m willing to accept that he doesn’t yet know how to navigate some questions or comments he’s made. But I’m not totally on that side.

I still think Freeman knows what he said on both occasions. He is a smart enough guy to know what he’s doing. We’ll see if he says anything else before the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame in the opener.

If you want to listen to the full interview, click the link above!