From Columbia to JUCO to driving Uber: CJ Freeman’s journey to a new football home
Editor’s note: This story is part of The State’s series “SC Sports: Where are the stars now?“
C.J. Freeman came a long way for this.
First, he went a long way — from Greensboro, North Carolina to Columbia, South Carolina (not so long), next to Iowa for junior college and then back to a school not far from his hometown. The former University of South Carolina football player went years without a competitive snap, but this past season he was in uniform and running the ball once again.
“It’s been like a little process, little journey,” Freeman told The State. “Once I left South Carolina, I went to JUCO, Iowa Western.
“I didn’t get the chance to play with an injury, and then I ended up having to take a semester off. ... Finally, through help, I got the call from Campbell.”
Three years after arriving at college, he got his chance to take the field for the small school in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He carved out a modest role, put up decent stats and finally got a chance to deliver on his talents.
Health never allowed Freeman, a Greensboro product, to make much of an impact with the Gamecocks. He was a member of the transition class from Steve Spurrier to Will Muschamp. A three-star back and top-600 national recruit, he ran for 2,091 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior.
But the injuries dogged him once he arrived in Columbia. He had surgery each year at USC, first an ACL procedure and a torn meniscus repair, and then a procedure to fix a lisfranc injury that left a plate in his foot.
And that eventually had to be removed as well.
“It got to a point where it was almost like scraping the top of my foot,” Freeman said. “It was burning like almost every step I took. It was just hurting. I tried to play with it for a while, but it got to a point where it was hard to walk.”
After that second procedure, he started thinking about a new start. He watched younger players step in, classmates Rico Dowdle, Mon Denson, A.J. Turner, and so on. He only played in one spring and half of a fall camp.
He talked to Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp, let him know his feelings. Muschamp not only aided him in his search for a transfer, speaking well of him to new coaches, but also said he wanted Freeman to keep working out with the team and keep coming to team meetings to keep himself in a football mindset before he left.
“I respect him to this day,” Freeman said. “I’ll never say anything bad about him. You know, he helped me out this process.”
That process sent him far western Iowa and Iowa Western Community College. It’s a junior college powerhouse, a program that often contends for titles and sends talent back to four-year schools.
Only Freeman never played, just like at South Carolina. More injuries kept him from showing his skills in 2018. He was out in the cornfields and in the cold.
And after that, he was on his own.
He graduated from junior college and any offers he had fell through. This isn’t so uncommon, and for many it’s the end of the road. The structure of football and building toward something is gone, and that’s that.
But Freeman kept at it.
“It was hard,” Freeman said. “Not knowing kind of what to do. It was really a total journey, honestly. I would get up every day, kind of not knowing what it holds for me.
“It was a rough journey. Mentally it was hard trying to keep up, but I kept faith in God, praying every day.”
The time in Iowa kept him focused. The spring saw him training and driving for Uber to get a little cash to help his family.
And then came a break.
Freeman’s trainer, Will Bradley, also trained one of the coaches at Campbell. Bradley shared one of Freeman’s workouts and the staff delivered an offer.
In the 2019 season he got 51 carries for 215 yards and a touchdown. His team went 6-5 and scored nearly 30 points a game.
Although he’s a few years removed from being a Gamecock, he still has warm feelings for his first school. Muschamp treated him well, and many of the players he came in with just finished up their college careers. He got to play alongside future NFL players, at least one future first-round pick. He made special note to credit USC assistant strength coach Ryan Bellerose, who went the extra mile helping him through rehab and keeping him up mentally.
And through the journey with its trials and tribulations, those bonds still hold.
“I made lifelong relationships with the brothers I came in (with),” Freeman said. “I came in early with Bryan Edwards, Keir Thomas, Kobe (Smith), Chris Smith, those are like my brothers for life. I still talk to them all the time. I still support them.”
