Dabo Swinney is impressed with Marcus Freeman’s resilience in his first season as Notre Dame’s head coach.

Notre Dame began the season with an 0-2 record after consecutive losses to Ohio State and Marshall. Following the slow start, Freeman guided Notre Dame to five wins in the last six games. The early losses hurt Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes, but the turnaround helped Notre Dame earn a 5-3 record after 9 weeks.

Swinney, who will be coaching against Notre Dame and Freeman in Week 10, marveled at Freeman’s ability to respond to adversity. He discussed Freeman’s recent success to the media on Tuesday.

“I don’t know Coach Freeman, but he’s done a great job settling them in,” Swinney said. “It shows the type of leader he is, able to overcome that and settle them down.”

Freeman will be going up against Clemson for the first time as a head coach. The last time Clemson and Notre Dame met in 2020, Freeman was still Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator. He will have an opportunity to keep Notre Dame trending in the right direction with a win over Clemson.

Notre Dame could play spoiler to Clemson’s Playoff hopes in 2022. Clemson currently leads the all-time series against Notre Dame, 4-2.

Clemson will pay a visit to Notre Dame on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.