LB Marcus Freeman (HC Notre Dame, Constant Backtracker)

[Buckskin86]

Possible opportunity for Marcus?

As of Monday the Bills were down to four healthy linebackers in Jon Corto, Keith Ellison and rookies Ashlee Palmer and Nic Harris with Palmer getting his first career start this past Sunday. But Harris has been practicing at safety the past two weeks due to the shortage there.
Jauron hasn?t completely committed to moving Harris back to linebacker at this point.

?We?ll see where Nic fits,? said Jauron of Harris. ?It makes sense right now before we have any of those workouts to think Nic would back up and give us help at that spot (linebacker).?

The Bills also have rookie Marcus Freeman on the practice squad, but he was signed just three weeks ago.

Mitchell and Buggs headed to I-R

 

[osucollegebuck]

Possible opportunity for Marcus?


Mitchell and Buggs headed to I-R

Man I hope so. I'm done wearing Bills gear until they win 2 games in a row. LOL

 

[Buckskin86]

Wilson: Bills sign Draft, JohnsonBuffalo adds linebacker, safety Aaron Wilson
October 13, 2009

In dire need of defensive depth after several injuries, the Buffalo Bills signed linebacker Chris Draft today as well as safety Todd Johnson.

Draft is a former Chicago Bears draft pick who was most recently with the St. Louis Rams prior to being cut on Sept. 10.

He has previous stints with the Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers.

Johnson has previous stints with the Bears and Rams.

The Bills have placed Kawika Mitchell and Marcus Buggs on injured reserve.

The Bills also cut linebacker Marcus Freeman and signed linebacker Anthony Waters to the practice squad.

Wilson: Bills sign Draft, Johnson | National Football Post

 

[Buckskin86]

IN FOR A VISIT: After coming up short in their attempts to trade for a tight end, the Bengals brought two in for tryouts on Monday.

Tony Curtis, who was released by Baltimore two weeks ago, spent three seasons in Dallas and has 11 career receptions while Jason Pociask briefly spent 2007 with the Jets.

The Bengals also brought in three defensive backs to evaluate ? Brannon Condren, Emanuel Cook and DeAngelo Willingham.

Marcus Freeman, who was drafted in the fifth round by the Bears this year before being released, was in for a visit.

Rest, review for Bengals during bye week | Cincinnati.com | The Cincinnati Enquirer

 

[Buckskin86]

The Texans signed linebacker Marcus Freeman and tight end Dezmond Sherrod to the practice squad.

Wilson: Cushing named AFC Defensive Player of the Week | National Football Post

 

[Buckskin86]

Enlarged heart sidelines former Wayne, OSU star Freeman
By Carlos Holmes, Staff Writer Updated
Thursday, March 25, 2010

Marcus Freeman?s playing career is over.

Freeman, a former Wayne High School and Ohio State football star linebacker, said he was diagnosed by the Indianapolis Colts medical staff as having an enlarged heart valve.

?It was hard to hear that football was being taken away, but life is much bigger than that for me,? Freeman said earlier this week. ?Sooner or later you?re going to be done. Even though I can?t play anymore I still have a love and a passion for it. I?ll just turn the page to the next chapter in my life.?

Freeman, a fifth-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 2009 who spent time last season on the Bills? and Texans? practice squads, was signed by the Colts this off-season. He said team doctors told him about the heart problem after he took a physical in February.

Freeman will join Ohio State?s staff this fall as a graduate assistant. He said he is three classes away from obtaining his master?s degree in sports management.

?Coach (Jim) Tressel gave me the opportunity to be on the staff,? he said. ?It?s a lot different than playing, but it?s exciting because it gives me the chance to stay close to football.?

Freeman got married Feb. 20 and he and his wife, Joanna, have a 2?-year-old son.

?God has a plan for everybody and this was his plan for me,? Freeman said. ?You can?t have football as the head of your life because that can be taken away at any moment. My family and religion definitely comes first in my life. I can still be successful without playing the game.?

Enlarged heart sidelines former Wayne, OSU star Freeman

 

[TheStoicPaisano]

Best wishes to Marcus...will be good to see him back on the sidelines in the Shoe this fall.

However, how exactly does an enlarged heart valve escape the doctors at James Medical Center + two NFL teams? I have aortic stenosis and it was diagnosed at birth.

 

[strohs]

However, how exactly does an enlarged heart valve escape the doctors at James Medical Center + two NFL teams?

I dont know, but i was thinking the same thing...

 

[pharaz1]

Best wishes to Marcus...will be good to see him back on the sidelines in the Shoe this fall.

However, how exactly does an enlarged heart valve escape the doctors at James Medical Center + two NFL teams? I have aortic stenosis and it was diagnosed at birth.

probably because the symptoms associated with it take time to present themselves. it's not always obvious that someone has an enlarged heart or valve. the good thing is that they at least caught it before it was too late.

anyway, best of luck to marcus and i agree it will be great to see him on the sidelines. who knows, maybe he ends up being a good coach.

 

[DontHateOState]

The symptoms can take decades to reveal themselves. Most likely, Marcus had been having increasingly more trouble with conditioning and workouts which led to a specific round of tests.

Sad, but this is a good move for him. He has the temperament of a good coach. I can see him having a long career in the coaching field.

 

[Buckskin86]

Helping hand

Rolle said former OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman has been help coach the linebackers this spring. Freeman was a starting linebacker two years ago for the Buckeyes, and Rolle said it is nice to have a former teammate add his two cents.

Even if it gets a little sticky sometimes.

?I call him Will Rolle,? Brian Rolle said. ?He?s just like my older brother. Literally just like my older brother. You?ll be in there talking and he?s like, ?Shut up, man.? (I say), ?You ain?t my brother, man.?

?So I?m just gonna call him Will Rolle.?

VIDEO: OSU NOTES: ?€˜Listen and learn,?€™ linebackers keep preaching - Morning Journal Sports: Serving Lorain, Erie, Huron and western Cuyahoga counties

Freeman returns

Former OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman is back, helping out the Buckeyes as a graduate assistant coach.

Freeman was a fifth-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 2009. He was waived at the end of preseason camp but spent time on the Buffalo and Houston practice squads.

Indianapolis wanted to sign him in February, but a physical revealed an enlarged heart valve, meaning Freeman's playing days were over.

"He's a guy that has played the position and obviously a lot of (the current linebackers) played with him, so they have a respect for him," Fickell said. "Sometimes they don't want to ask a coach and they feel comfortable going to him, so it's been a good thing so far."

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten...o-return-to-action-after-surgery.html?sid=101

 

[Buckskin86]

Heartbroken: Freeman's career cut short
Former Ohio State linebacker Marcus Freeman's NFL career abruptly ended because of heart condition
By Zack Meisel
[email protected]
Published: Monday, April 26, 2010

Marcus Freeman has a big heart. He just never knew that it would cost him his dream.

Last April, Freeman patiently waited until the fifth round of the NFL Draft to hear his name called. With a professional career on the horizon, the former Ohio State linebacker had achieved something he had worked toward for years.

?That I had a chance to play in the NFL was a great feeling,? Freeman said. ?A dream come true.?

One year later, that dream is over.

Freeman bounced around the league during his rookie campaign. The Chicago Bears drafted him with the 154th overall pick, but released him a week before the start of the regular season.

Freeman caught on with Buffalo and then Houston, but both teams let him go.

Although the Huber Heights, Ohio, native struggled to find a permanent home, teams continued to call.

But when Freeman met with doctors in February for a physical before joining the Indianapolis Colts, his career path was altered forever.

Doctors discovered that Freeman had an enlarged heart valve of the left ventricle.

?They said they couldn?t pass me and they said that they?re very sure that no one else in the NFL will pass me,? Freeman said.

Freeman started at linebacker for the Buckeyes for three seasons. He was named second-team all-Big Ten during his last two seasons in scarlet and gray.

But in a matter of seconds, a man who said he felt completely healthy had to call it quits.

?I was devastated,? Freeman said. ?Football is something I?ve done for many years and I was devastated that I couldn?t play the game anymore. With this heart condition, it?s bigger than football. You need to make sure you stay on top of it. That was the deciding factor that that was the end of my playing days.?

The Lantern - Heartbroken: Freeman's career cut short

 

[FCollinsBuckeye]

Freeman will join Ohio State?s staff this fall as a graduate assistant. He said he is three classes away from obtaining his master?s degree in sports management.

Despite the abrupt ending to his playing career, this is outstanding to hear. Marcus will go far.

:osu4:

 

[Buckskin86]

Freeman still giving his all to football
After enlarged heart derailed playing career, former Bears draft pick coaching at Ohio State
By Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter
May 1, 2010

As Marcus Freeman drove out of Indianapolis after a failed physical with the Colts only four days after they lost the Super Bowl, he couldn't help but think about Gaines Adams, who had died less than a month earlier.

But the linebacker from Ohio State, the Bears' fifth-round pick a year ago, also couldn't imagine an enlarged heart valve in his left ventricle ending his football career. His playing days had ended abruptly, but not a career in the game he loves.

Freeman's first call was to his Buckeyes position coach, Luke Fickell, explaining that after a battery of stress tests and an MRI on his heart the Colts determined it wasn't safe for him to continue playing. He wanted to coach. Then he called his father and wife and explained the stunning news.

"The two-hour drive home from Indianapolis helped me realize, ?Hey, this is the end of it,' '' said Freeman, who has a 3-year-old daughter, Bria, and a 2-year-old son, Vincent. "I was really disappointed, but I wasn't in the dumps. Right away, I was excited and ready to begin the next chapter. Coaching is definitely something I have a passion for."

Now, he has a position as a quality control assistant for the Buckeyes while he finishes up three classes for a degree in sports management. His goal is to continue in the coaching profession after a truncated playing career. The Bears released Freeman at the end of the preseason, and he had stints on practice squads for the Bills and Texans.

Marcus Freeman: Still giving his all to football - chicagotribune.com

 

[Buckskin86]

Tressel also discussed another area player who has taken a unique path back to Columbus. After a star career as an OSU linebacker, Wayne product Marcus Freeman spent 2008 on several practice squads before learning he would be forced to end his career because of an enlarged heart valve.

Tressel said Freeman will spend the 2010 season working with the OSU program while finishing his master?s degree.

?He?ll be done in the fall with his master?s, he?ll have had a year of coaching with us, and I think the sky?s the limit,? Tressel said.

?I think Marcus is in the moment in his life where he?s going to decide after the fall, ?Do I want to go the coaching route? ? which he?ll be very good at ? ?or do I want to go the administrative route,? which he?ll have his sports management major and his master?s. I think it?s still unknown to him which way he?ll go.?

Tressel expects big things from area Buckeyes in NFL