When Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman leads the Fighting Irish out onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the national championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, he'll be doing so as an opponent of his alma mater.

But Freeman, who spent three seasons with the Buckeyes as a player from 2006-08, still has a lot of love for Ohio State. In fact, during a joint interview alongside Ohio State coach Ryan Day with ESPN's Chris Fowler ahead of the title game, Freeman admitted, as part of a response to another question, that he still roots for his alma mater, unless they're playing against the Fighting Irish, of course.

"I got a lot of respect for Coach Day," Freeman said. "Being a former player ... When you're not playing them, I'm a huge Ohio State fan. The job he's done leading that program has been tremendous, so got a lot of respect for him."

And it's not just the Ohio State program that has a special place in Freeman's heart. The Notre Dame coach still has a lot of love for one of his ex-Buckeyes teammates, former three-time All-American and current Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis.

"Yeah, it won't be something you'll think about once the game starts," Freeman said of his relationship with Laurinaitis during a Saturday news conference. "But again, you talk about a guy that you care about more than the game of football, and we have a personal relationship. Our wives know each other really well. Our kids know each other really well."

"He's a friend, and at the end of the day you care about friends. But when the game starts, the game starts. It's going to be about winning, and look forward to the opportunity."

Notre Dame and Ohio State kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday night.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Marcus Freeman Says He's Still an Ohio State Fan Before Title Game vs. Buckeyes.