It has been a wild and busy 2021 for Indiana freshman husky Maurice Freeman.
He spent his spring playing football for Oscar Smith High School (Va.), where he helped his team to a Class 6A state title, before arriving onto Bloomington's campus and settling in with Indiana's defense.
This week, Freeman, who played safety in high school and is listed as a linebacker at Indiana, met with the media to discuss how his spring and summer have gone and how his adaptation to the Husky position is going.
This spring, Oscar Smith finished 9-0 and outscored opponents by 420 points on the season en route to winning the title 62-21.
"It meant a lot because I really wanted that ring. This is what we were working hard for through the whole COVID season. There was a lot we had to do. It was really meaningful for all the seniors that were there. We got it done," Freeman said of winning a state crown earlier this year.
He is now transitioning into playing the Husky position at Indiana, and told the media so far, it has gone well.
“I really like playing man, so it’s really a man position. We play man a lot. And I love coming off the edge, coming down setting the edge, and running into gaps and everything. That’s what I really like about it," Freeman said.
At Oscar Smith, Freeman got work at both outside linebacker and in the defensive backfield and put up impressive numbers.
As a junior, he recorded 55 tackles, five sacks and 14 tackles for loss and also forced five fumbles and pulled down an interception.
He said the system Indiana runs is similar to what he was in at Oscar Smith.
“Everything is basically the same, things that we ran in high school,” Freeman said. “Here it’s just more man-to-man. I feel like if I just keep on my craft, I’ll be on the field early.”
At the Husky position, Indiana returns Marcelino Ball, who is working his way back from injury, and Bryant Fitzgerald, who was the starter a year ago.
Freeman said he has a good relationship with his defensive teammates and freshmen.
"We've been here for three weeks and have been bonding and I am very close with most of the freshmen," said Freeman, who added he is rooming with Jordan Grier.
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.
