Marcus Freeman has calls new defensive coach's energy "infectious"

Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman had plenty of praise for one of his new hires to the staff.

In a recent interview with On3 (subscription required), Freeman was very vocal about the instant impact that Aaron Henry has made since he was brought onto campus at South Bend as the new defensive backs coach. He called Henry’s presence “infectious” and pointed towards the easy fit he has had alongside defensive coordinator Chris Ash.

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Aaron Henry was the defensive coordinator at the University of Illinois but even then he fit the type of profile that Freeman looked for in a coach: High-energy, a great recruiter and someone who was proven on the defensive side of the football.

At Illinois, he built his reputation as one of the best developers of defensive backs in the country. Players like Devon Witherspoon, Kerby Joseph, Quan Martin, and Sydney Brown can all be credited at least in part with being developed by Henry. It seems like it is just a matter of time before Witherspoon will sign a new contract with the Seattle Seahawks and become the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history. He started as a defensive backs coach at Illinois before eventually being promoted to defensive coordinator when Ryan Walters was hired as the head coach at Purdue.