The Ohio State football program is one of the model programs in college football. Very few other programs are able to replicate the success that they have had. The Buckeyes have won two national championships in the last 12 years and 3 in the last 24. Only Alabama has more than that in that timespan.
Ryan Day has done a great job of keeping the Buckeyes playing at a high level over the last six years. He has made the College Football Playoff four times and has a national championship to his name. Many other programs would love to have that level of success.
Former Buckeye linebacker Marcus Freeman has seen that success from Day firsthand. He lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes three straight years. Now, he's trying to build a program that is just like Ohio State, going as far as taking their players in the Transfer Portal.
Marcus Freeman doing everything he can to emulate Ohio State
When Freeman first got the job at Notre Dame, he talked a lot of smack about the Buckeyes. Now, he is trying to bring in players from Ohio State to do it. This past offseason, he grabbed two former five-star receiver recruits and brought them to Notre Dame. Freeman even hired former Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash to be his DC.
Freeman has seen what the Buckeyes have done over the last few years with the roster and wants to emulate it. There is nothing wrong with that. Of course, that means that they will have to fight for recruits over Ohio State, which is tough to do. There is one thing Freeman hasn't been able to duplicate, however.
The Fighting Irish does not have two former NFL head coaches as their offensive and defensive coordinators. Ash has only been a head coach once, and that was when he was hired by Rutgers after being the DC in Columbus. The other co-DC, Aaron Henry, was just recently hired and has never coached in the NFL. Mike Denbrock, Notre Dame's OC, has never coached in the NFL at any level. either.
The Buckeyes are more focused on beating the teams in front of them on their schedule than they are on other programs around the country. Still, it will be interesting to see if Freeman is able to succeed in winning a national championship with what he's doing.