Why Notre Dame football added a director of analytics to Marcus Freeman's support staff

SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman confirmed the recent addition of Anthony Treash as director of analytics.

In his newly created role, “(Treash) would be a guy that helps you out, using the book during the game, but also a guy that can evaluate trends of prospects, trends of your current team, looking at numbers,” Freeman said after Saturday’s closed scrimmage at Notre Dame Stadium. “And I think he's a guy that’s going to be very beneficial as an addition to our recruiting and our support staff.”

A 2019 graduate of Indiana University Indianapolis, Treash (pronounced “Tresh”) was most recently senior college football analyst for Pro Football Focus, which he joined full-time in June of 2019.

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Treash, who earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management, spent seven months as a graphics coordinator at the Cincinnati-based website. He worked part-time as a football analyst for 15 months before that.

A Greensburg, Ind., product, Treash worked his way up to assistant golf pro at Greensburg Country Club before working in sales, marketing and promotions for three different pro sports franchises: the Indiana Pacers (NBA), Indianapolis Colts (NFL) and Cincinnati Reds (MLB).

Treash is the latest addition to an Irish football support staff that continues to expand.

Former Irish long snapper Michael Vinson, the starter for the past four seasons, is now listed on the staff directory as a special-teams analyst/fellow.

“It was a position we felt that we didn't have, that we needed to have to really be able to maximize this football program,” Freeman said of Treash. “And he's only been here a couple days, but I think he's going to be a valuable asset.”

In his final Top 100 ranking of pro prospects ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, Treash slotted Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt No. 5 overall, which is where the Los Angeles Chargers wound up picking him.

Treash also rated Irish right tackle Blake Fisher (34 ^th overall) and cornerback Cam Hart (41 ^st overall) higher than the consensus and well above where they landed in the draft.

In one of his more fascinating research projects, Treash used linear weights to rank the most effective blitz concepts by team in college football last year. Heading into bowl season, Notre Dame’s regular blitz concept (61 plays) was the eighth-most effective at the FBS level.

Louisville, which visits Notre Dame in Game 5, occupied two of the top five spots in Treash’s study with its “5-Up” and regular concepts.

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for NDInsider.com and the South Bend Tribune. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Why Notre Dame football added a director of analytics to Marcus Freeman's support staff