The first rule of the podcast: What happens on the show, stays on the show.
Make sense?
OK, maybe that’s counter-intuitive for a podcast. But it goes a long way in describing the circle of trust that Marcus Freeman relies on as he gears up for his fifth season leading Notre Dame.
The routine will go something like this: Every fall Friday for the past four years, Dominique Barber puts his kids to bed, throws on some Notre Dame, Ohio State and Minnesota gear, heads to his Minneapolis garage, and hits record on a pregame video.
Then he’ll fire off the clip to two of his best friends: Freeman, the head coach at Notre Dame; and James Laurinaitis, the linebackers coach at Ohio State.
“I won’t give a full-fledged scouting report,” Barber told The Inside Zone with a laugh. “I’ll watch my Gophers, the Irish and the Buckeyes, and I’ll report back. If I watch an opponent that they’re playing, I’ll give my two cents.
“There’s just so much pressure that they have on them, and I want to give them a laugh going into Saturdays and a smile. Let them know that this isn’t the end of the world, and that there are people that support them.”
How did Barber, Freeman and Laurinaitis become the three best friends that anyone could have?
Thank Laurinaitis, who grew up with Barber in the Minneapolis suburbs, teamed up with him at Wayzata High and was set to play with him with the Gophers before Ohio State swooped in and landed the linebacker as a recruit.
