‘He had a selfish moment… You have to put team glory in front of yourself’ – Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman on Jordan Clark controversy against Louisville
After a week off for their first bye of the 2024 season, Notre Dame football is officially back and preparing for their matchup with Stanford this weekend. Head coach Marcus Freeman was available on Monday to speak to the media, to recap their game against Louisville two weekends ago, and preview this weekend’s matchup. As […]
After a week off for their first bye of the 2024 season, Notre Dame football is officially back and preparing for their matchup with Stanford this weekend. Head coach Marcus Freeman was available on Monday to speak to the media, to recap their game against Louisville two weekends ago, and preview this weekend’s matchup.
As a part of the conversation, Coach Freeman was asked about an incident that happened in the Louisville game involving defensive back Jordan Clark. The son of former Pittsburgh Steelers standout Ryan Clark, the graduate senior was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty where he headbutted a Louisville wide receiver after a play.
After the game, both Clarks took to X to discuss the situation. Their claim is that the previous drive before the incident, that same wide receiver had spit on Clark. That play was his retaliation to the initial action.
It is unclear whether a spit did actually occur, but either way it was an unfortunate circumstance in what was a big victory for the Irish program. Here is what Coach Freeman had to say about the reaction on Monday.
“You have to put team glory in front of yourself… Sometimes people test your manhood but you still have to be able to put team before me. I know we have had long conversations. He regrets the penalty. He regrets his response. Nobody is worth 15 yards.
“We are all innately selfish people. I think we are all naturally that way. In that moment, and there are moments like that in every game, you have to put the team before yourself. You have to let things go. That was my message to the entire team and to Jordan… I thought it was a great teaching opportunity for a guy who cares deeply about the team.”
In the end, this situation could be a beneficial one for Coach Freeman and the program. Utilizing it as a teaching moment is wise. In the game of football, tempers and emotions are going to get high at times. It’s how you react to these types of moments that defines you. It was a lapse for Clark, but one that Freeman hopes he learns from.
“He had a selfish moment. I love him and he owned it like Adon (Shuler) did the week before. But we have to continue to learn from it. He has to understand that football is just a reflection of life. At times, you are going to have to let some things go.”
That moment also overshadowed the fact that Clark just had his best game in the blue and gold so far. The starting nickel for the team, Clark was forced to play some outside cornerback due to injury against the Cardinals. He ended that game against Louisville with five total tackles, one tackle for loss, and a pass breakup.
