Advertisement

Sun Bowl hypnosis offers another career first for Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman

mike berardino, south bend tribune
·2 min read

EL PASO, Texas — No matter what happens in Friday’s Sun Bowl, Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman won’t soon forget his first experience with hypnosis.

Doug McCraw, a Florida-based hypnotist-comedian who has been part of Sun Bowl week for years, entertained the gathering at Wednesday night’s team dinner for the Irish and 21st-ranked Oregon State.

“(Wednesday) night was pretty unique,” Freeman said at Thursday’s joint news conference. “I’ve never been to a hypnotist. I woke up in the middle of the night kind of Googling: ‘Is this real or not?’ That’s was the first time I’ve ever been to one of those shows.”

Commentary: Sun Bowl in El Paso the place to be for Notre Dame football

Mike Denbrock: Marcus Freeman used direct pitch to bring LSU offensive coordinator back to Notre Dame football

After telling the crowd at the Fort Bliss, a sprawling U.S. Army base, that one hour of hypnosis is as refreshing as eight hours of sleep, McCraw asked for volunteers from both teams to join him on stage.

One of McCraw’s routines involves telling the entire crowd to close its eyes and then, upon his command, “forget the number four.” Sure enough, according to a person in attendance, when the crowd was asked to count to five on its fingers, participants repeatedly skipped right from “three” to “five.”

In Notre Dame’s case, both players wearing No. 4 this season (receiver Chris Tyree and safety Antonio Carter II) entered the transfer portal in December. Sixth-year receiver Matt Salerno, who typically wears No. 29, did switch to No. 4 for the final game of his college career.

At 9-3 and seeking to avoid loss No. 4 for a second straight season under Freeman, it wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Irish if McCraw’s spell lasted through Friday’s contest.

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and is on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman enjoys hypnotic Sun Bowl experience