HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Walking the halls of Wayne High School, it’s no secret that there were some incredible athletes to enter the school’s doors. This year, no one has been talked about more than Marcus Freeman.
What You Need To Know
- Marcus Freeman graduated from Wayne in 2004 before playing at Ohio State
- Aamil Wagner is a freshman offensive lineman at Notre Dame and graduated from Wayne
- Wayne Head Coach Roosevelt Mukes remembers Freeman as a hard-working player
- Former coaches and teammates said Freeman’s success is huge for the legacy of Wayne football
Freeman, in his first year as head coach at Notre Dame, graduated in 2004 before playing at Ohio State University. Wayne’s head coach, Roosevelt Mukes, was a position coach when Freeman was a Warrior.
Marcus Freeman is now in the Wayne High School Athletic Hall of Fame (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“Just knowing how hard he worked and the great family that he comes from, it’s just amazing and a blessing to be able to see him in this position now,” Mukes said.
Mukes said he takes each football player’s past success as a way to remind his current players where they can be.
Coach Mukes at practice (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“The biggest thing for us is for them to understand how important this place is and the standard that Coach Schneider and Coach Minton set and we just want to continue that,” Mukes said.
Wide receivers coach AJ Lash played alongside Freeman in high school. Memories he still cherishes.
AJ Lash is the wide receivers coach. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“As far as working, you were not going to outwork him,” Lash said. “There would be times I would be at his house and he’d be like ‘Come on let’s go lift’ and I’d be like ‘Dude I don’t feel like it.’ And he would get me like ‘Oh so you don’t want to be better today, you don’t want to be the best.’ And that’s what he always strived himself on.”
But what makes the upcoming Notre Dame and Ohio State matchup even more special this weekend for the Warriors is one of their own is taking the field, Notre Dame freshman offensive lineman Aamil Wagner.
Offensive line coach Cole Newsome and Wayne graduate and Notre Dame offensive lineman Aamil Wagner (Courtesy: Cole Newsome)
“He will be my first lineman to play college football since I’ve coached here, so it’ll be a great, great day for me,” offensive line coach Cole Newsome said. “I can’t wait to see him in his uniform, he’s going to be awesome.”
“When you talk about the epitome of a student-athlete that is worried about his academics just as he is his athletics, then you’re talking about somebody like Aamil,” Mukes said. “And to go to a place like Notre Dame, it’s just a blessing and an honor.”
With two Wayne greats representing the Irish this year, it’s a moment this football program will never forget.
“Right now, he’s the hottest coach in college football,” Lash said. “He’s the guy. And so him being from here and what he represents and how he represents the Huber Heights community, it’s such a great thing.”
