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football Edit

Freeman promoted

Marcus Freeman turned 30 earlier this month.

Already, he has a Big Ten coordinator label.

As GoldandBlack.com previously reported, Purdue’s linebackers coach has been promoted in title by Coach Darrell Hazell. The change in title showed up on Purdue's website Monday afternoon. Freeman will join Ross Els in the co-coordinator role.

Hazell has been a prominent figure in Freeman’s ascension in the coaching ranks. When Hazell was an assistant coach at Ohio State from 2004-2010, Freeman was a linebacker and, later, a graduate assistant coach. When Hazell got his first head coaching job at Kent State in 2011, he plucked Freeman out to be his linebackers coach. After two years on staff at Kent, Hazell brought Freeman with him to West Lafayette where he’s coached the linebackers for three seasons.

Freeman doesn’t have experience as a coordinator at any level. Els was a coordinator at New Mexico for two seasons in 2003-04 and served as Hastings College’s DC for one season in 1996.

Just how Purdue will divide its co-coordinator duties still is murky.

When asked about a co-coordinator possibility in late December, Hazell said he’d researched the roles and seemed to have a plan.

“I’ve talked to a couple people who are doing it right now, who have done it in the past, where if you do go co-defensive coordinator that he knows he has the final say when there is a dispute,” Hazell said in December. “But I think lines have to clearly be defined on who’s presenting the plan and who’s calling the defense.”

Based on salary alone, it'd appear Els will be the one with the bulk of the play-calling responsibility. Els will make $400,000 in 2016, while Freeman's salary is at $250,000. That's a $50,000 increase from last season for Freeman.

Hazell has said he does not want a roving coordinator. It appears as though Els will coach Purdue's safeties, according to the roster on the school's website, though there has been no official release release. Taver Johnson coached the entire unit the last two years and still is listed as "defensive backs" coach on the school's website. But it could be more specifically cornerbacks if Els is coaching safeties.

Hazell and the rest of the coaching staff won't be available for comment until Feb. 3, which is signing day.

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