Jarrett Patterson Injury Update: Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman Sheds Light on Chances Left Guard Plays vs. Ohio State

Will Notre Dame be forced to take on the tall task of trying to beat Ohio State in Columbus without veteran left guard Jarrett Patterson?

With about seven hours until the marquee matchup, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman gave an update on whether or not Patterson will be available. The offensive lineman has been nursing a foot sprain for the past two weeks.

According to Freeman, there’s about a ’50-50 chance’ Patterson plays in the Ohio State tilt.

“As we just reported on @CollegeGameDay, Marcus Freeman told ESPN this am that star left guard Jarrett Patterson remains a gametime decision with a foot sprain. He’s considered 50-50 tonight against Ohio State,” college football insider Pete Thamel tweeted out Saturday morning.

Earlier in the week, Marcus Freeman was hoping to get Jarrett Patterson some practice time before seeing if he can give it a go for Ohio State.

“I expect him to come out this week and practice,” Freeman said. “We’ll see as we get closer to game time where it will be.”

Of course, Marcus Freeman knows he’ll need all the help he can get to pull off the upset in his first season at the helm for the Fighting Irish.

Last season, Freeman served as the defensive coordinator for Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. And when Kelly left for LSU, players lobbied to have Freeman step in to lead the program.

Even though Marcus Freeman played his college ball at Ohio State, he claims that his full focus is on his Notre Dame squad ahead of their big Saturday night matchup.

“I’m pretty emotionless about going back to Ohio State, but we get to play a great team in a great hostile environment…” Freeman said. “Like any competitor, you get butterflies and excitement to play in a place like that.”

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