Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman gets some advice from old Ohio State coach Jim Tressel

Marcus Freeman he has a huge job ahead of him as he takes Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the national championship game on Monday night. While he and his coaching staff have been figuring out ways to get the best out of favored Ohio State, his roots go back to his time with the Buckeyes as a player and graduate assistant.

Freeman was a quarterback for the Buckeyes and played three seasons for former head coach Jim Tressel from 2006 to 2008. He also began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State under Tressel.

The former Ohio State coach remembers Freeman well, and he had some advice for his former player and assistant. Not necessarily advice on how to beat Ohio State, but how to handle the prospect of playing in the title game.

“You never know how many you’re going to get, so you want to make sure you feel good about how you’re doing,” Tressel said, per CBS Sports. That’s the hardest part of training. You vividly remember when you didn’t do well, and sometimes you gloss over the times when it did.”

Tressel’s advice was also given to Ohio State running backs coach James Laurinaitis. Freeman and Laurinaitis played together at Ohio State and the two are close friends off the court. Freeman hired Laurinaitis as a graduate assistant at Notre Dame before being hired by Ohio State.

Freeman, Notre Dame needs to figure out how to slow Ohio State’s offense

Past ties won’t matter when the game kicks off Monday at 7:30 PM ET, and the Notre Dame defense has a huge job ahead of it. The Buckeyes have been on fire during the postseason. Head coach Ryan DayThe offense lit up Tennessee for 42 points, followed by a 41-point effort against top-seeded and previously unbeaten Oregon.

The Buckeyes clinched a spot in the national championship game with a 28-14 victory over Texas. Ohio State has a plethora of offensive stars that Notre Dame’s defense will need to contain. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard completed 292 of 402 passes for 3,779 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Freshman Jeremiah Smith is his best receiver and must be a priority for the Irish tackle defense. Smith caught 71 passes for 1,227 yards with 14 touchdowns. Along with Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate are game-changing receivers.

The running game is in the hands of Treveion Henderson, who has rushed for 967 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is joined by Ole Miss transfer Quinshawn Judkins, who rushed for 960 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Steve Silverman has covered the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including “Who’s Better, Who’s the Best in the NFL.”