Picture Perfect – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 2, 2006
by Danielle Warner Ohio State Athletics Communications
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Two people are sitting in a room and one of them is Marcus Freeman. The other person is you. Which one is more likely to speak first? If you are an outgoing person, it may be you, but chances are Freeman still will beat you to the punch. That is the modus operandi of the redshirt sophomore linebacker; a self-admitted outgoing guy, who always is trying to make even the most arduous tasks fun.
“No matter what I am doing, I try to make it fun,” Freeman said. “I think in times when everyone is stressed out, it’s important to relax and not feel so tense.”
Although it is evident Freeman is considering each question in an interview carefully, his naturally composed demeanor is apparent through his answers, which most of the time is accompanied with a smile and a laugh as he reminisces about his first three years at Ohio State. He redshirted in 2005.
One notable memory for Freeman was his request for the No. 1 jersey after wearing No. 17 his freshman season in 2004. Freeman approached Buckeye head coach Jim Tressel following the loss to Purdue about the possibility of switching numbers. Although it seemed Freeman’s request could not have come at a worse time, Tressel would give Freeman the opportunity to earn the number. “He said, `You know, No. 1 is a significant number,'” Freeman said Tressel told him. “`You are going to have to earn it.’ My response was `OK.’ I was willing to work, so before my sophomore year, I had a decent spring season and coach said I could wear No. 1.”
Expectedly, Freeman’s teammates heckled him about wearing the number. With No. 1 representing a bull’s eye for opponents, many told Freeman he would now become a target. Becoming the focus of the adversary on the other side of the ball? Not an issue for Freeman. In fact, it is a welcomed challenge for someone who was forced to sit out the 2005 season because of a knee injury.
Yes, No. 1 is noted as a flashy number, but that was not the real reason Freeman requested the jersey. Truth be told, he likes his appearance in single-digit jerseys. Donning No. 2 at Wayne High School is proof of that. Looking good, not a priority for Freeman, but important nonetheless.
At Ohio State’s annual media/photo day in August, Freeman was snapped by a Columbus Dispatch photographer putting on an earring to complete his look. Even when he was younger, Freeman was not lacking in self esteem.
He always thought he was good looking, Chong Freeman, Marcus’ mother, said. One day when a smaller version of the 6-foot-2-inch, 242-pound Freeman was in the bathroom of their Huber Heights, Ohio, home, he yelled for his mother. Chong was in the kitchen and thought something was wrong with her son, but instead found Marcus admiring himself in the mirror and said, “`Mom, I am a good-looking boy.'”
Just like Marcus, Chong giggles as she recalled the memory of a child she has always put first before anything else. A child who shares a heritage and culture with his mother that makes him different, yet not so different.
Freeman’s father, Michael, met Chong in South Korea while serving in the Air Force before he retired in 1987, one year after Marcus was born at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center in Fairborn, Ohio. Michael and Chong were married and she has not seen her homeland since 1979.
“I cherish that part of my culture,” Marcus said. “My mom is different from other people, but at the other end of the spectrum, she is just like everybody else.”
Along with his older brother, Michael Freeman Jr., Marcus would like to travel to South Korea with his mother, similar to the pilgrimage Pittsburgh Steelers flanker Hines Ward took with his South Korean-born mother following his MVP performance in Super Bowl XL.
“I always told my mom that my brother and I wanted to travel with her to South Korea,” Freeman said. “You see guys like Hines Ward after he won the Super Bowl do something like that and it was something my mom really cherished. It made her emotional to see something like that, because not many Korean people are popular athletes in the United States. I thank my mom for everything she has done for me and traveling to South Korea with her would be a little token of my appreciation.”
Ward’s story hits close to home, except for a few of vital points. Freeman was raised in a two-parent household, whereas Ward was raised only by his mother. Freeman equally praises his father for instilling in him a focus and drive that has allowed him to be a natural-born leader and carve a niche for himself on the OSU football team. Additionally, Freeman rarely suffered the harsh ridicules and taunts from classmates and neighborhood kids that plagued Ward’s childhood. Both Freeman’s parents repeatedly emphasized that “Marcus is just a friendly person, who gets along with anyone he meets.”
Freeman reciprocates his affection for his parents as he reiterates how proud he is of that part of his heritage and making that all-important trip is not about appearing on the cover of game programs or magazines, but simply about saying thank you.
“There were times when I got into arguments with people and they would make fun of me,” Freeman said. “But that is a part of growing up. There was never a time when I was ashamed of my mother or my heritage. How could I with all that she has done for me? The way she goes about working and taking care of her kids. That is something I have always respected.”
While taking care of her most treasured possessions, Chong began introducing her two sons to just a few of South Korea’s traditions. She enrolled Marcus and Michael in Tae Kwon Do classes when they were 3 and 5, respectively, and it was not long before they worked their way up to earning the coveted black belt and winning the junior national championships by ages 8 and 10.
Despite walking away from Tae Kwon Do to pursue his passion for football at age 12, it was through the sport Freeman gained his discipline, respect and need for structure, Michael said. Marcus used the attributes of Tae Kwon Do to learn the intangibles that would ultimately lend him guidance in achieving some of his most profound goals.
When Freeman decided he wanted to play varsity football for Wayne High School, head coach Jay Minton told him he would first need to lose weight after weighing in at 230 pounds. Behind the closed door of his bedroom, unbeknownst to his family, Marcus was doing 300 sit-ups and 300 pushups every night before he dropped to a svelte 190 pounds.
“Nobody knew what he was doing,” his mother said. “But he maintained a positive attitude and achieved his goals. Once he makes up his mind, it is done.”
Fast forward to the beginning of the 2005 season. Although Freeman was resigned to the fact he was not going to receive the starting role at linebacker when his teammates at the position included two-time All-American A.J. Hawk, All-Big Ten pick Bobby Carpenter and All-Big Ten honorable mention Anthony Schlegel, Freeman figured he would earn some playing time in preparation for the seasons to come. However, a knee injury in the first game of the year against Miami (Ohio) eventually kept him out the rest of the season. It was then Freeman needed a positive attitude more than ever.
Although not behind closed doors at his childhood home this time around, Freeman proceeded to do what he does best. He set a goal and mapped out his quest for achieving that objective. Despite a slow start to rehabilitation because of complications with the injury, Freeman went full-steam ahead when he received the OK from trainers and doctors. Various exercises, such as knee extensions and quadriceps strengthening exercise became the norm, as well as the popular pool workouts to help keep pressure off the knee.
Nevertheless, Freeman knows it will not be easy earning and keeping a starting spot and should the coaches decide to start someone else, he hopes another knee injury will not be the reason.
“I was behind three great linebackers last year,” Freeman said. “Even though I was out, I learned so much from watching them in practice. That is the only way I was going to learn. I watched them in practice and in the games and I knew I wanted to follow in their footsteps. I know I could never fill their shoes, but I want to follow them and hopefully do the best I can. My knee is feeling great. There are so many great linebackers on this team and it’s going to be a battle for each linebacking position.”
As Freeman seeks to elevate his status, why should coaches or even fans look to him as a potential Buckeye football great?
“The difference with me may be my speed,” Freeman said. “I might be a step faster than some guys. But saying that, each guy has something that sticks out. I have so much I need to work on though. I need to work on using my hands more, getting off blocks and exploding to the ball. But my one factor is my speed.”
With that said, Freeman no doubt has embraced the daily grind that has produced an abundance of OSU football greats, but not without style, smiles and laughs helping him along the way. It should not have been a surprise to anyone who was a part of the Ohio State football program three years ago of Freeman’s knack to always lighten the moment, especially under stressful situations.
When Freeman held his press conference announcing which university he was going to attend after his senior season at Wayne High School, Freeman made sure that one of the biggest decisions of his life would be an event that matched his fun and optimistic personality.
Family, friends, classmates and the media filled Wayne’s gymnasium, anxiously awaiting the Parade All-American’s decision. The star of the show, Freeman had three hats, one representing Michigan University, University of Notre Dame and The Ohio State University. Not shying away from the attention heaped upon him, Freeman did not verbalize his commitment to the Buckeyes. Rather, he simply picked up the OSU cap and put it on to the applause of everyone in the gym.
Three years later, Freeman has maintained that cheerful and upbeat disposition and that works for him. He knows when he must be all business, but even then he lets what has helped him this far guide the way.
“I think in times when everyone is stressed, I try to be laid back and relaxed,” Freeman said. “On the football field, I want to go out there and let my personality help me relax when I start feeling tense because I know I have been here before. Then I can go out there and play my game.”
