Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman held a press conference Monday at Notre Dame Stadium, previewing Saturday's road game between his 12th-ranked Irish (7-2) and 4-4 Clemson (Noon EDT; ABC). Here's everything he had to say. Answers are largely verbatim. Question are edited for brevity and clarity.

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OPENING STATEMENT

“Revisiting Saturday, overall as you go back and look and study it, I told the coaches I was extremely pleased with the overall performance. There’s always plays that you’ll look at and you’ll want to improve on, but overall, on all three phases, it was a lot of positives. Defensively, the ability to hold that team, that offense, to really zero points until the fourth quarter and to create four takeaways, it’s huge for our team.

Then offensively, I love the way they responded. After the two first half turnovers, I challenged them at halftime. You look back at that game, and offensively we truly scored probably 38 of the 58 points. That 500-plus yards against that defense that came into the game having some good statistics. I was pleased at the overall effort from our offense.

Then special teams, we scored 14 points this week on special teams. That’s two weeks in a row that we put points on the board from our special teams unit. When you’re able to do that in all three phases, you’re going to have an outcome like you saw on Saturday.

The other thing to get the opportunity to play some of those younger guys late in the game, you don’t always get the opportunity to do that. When you can do that in meaningful time and evaluate those guys and get them a chance to get better versus another opponent, that is invaluable experience.

“The challenge will be to continue to improve, continue to figure out why you have the performance the way you did on Saturday. What do we have to do to take this thing to another level? That will be my challenge for our program as the head coach. We have to continue to take this thing to another level, because there is another level for this team. We have to prepare the way that gives us a chance to be successful as we go down to Clemson this Saturday.

“Players of the game on offense and special teams was Chris Tyree, on defense was Xavier Watts, and scout players of the week were on offense Leo Scheidler, defense Ben Minich and special teams Isaiah Dunn.

“Quick injury updates: Mitchell Evans will be done for the season. He’ll have surgery here in the next week or so, depending on when the doctors decide to do it. He tore his ACL, and he’ll be out for the season. Cam Hart and Ben Morrison are both back and expected to play this week. Tried to give you some answers before you asked the questions.

“Turning the page to Clemson, we understand the challenge. We have to understand the challenge that it’s going to be to go down there. They’ve had a very unique season. As you look at the record versus what the film shows and really what the games tell you as you watch. Those four losses, two of them were in overtime when they were leading in the fourth quarter. One of them, the first game of the year vs. Duke, the turnovers in the red zone were just a unique situation. I don’t know if I’d ever seen a game like that. Then last week, the stats, if you just read the stats, will tell you they probably should have won that game. Probably the turnovers ended up costing them that game. But this is a talented football team. We understand the challenge that it will present on Saturday down at Clemson. We have to continue to go back to work, prepare and make sure we’re ready to go on Saturday.”

Q: Is Eli Raridon ready to do more? Do you feel like he can get more involved as a pass-catcher?

Marcus Freeman: “Yeah. He’ll be asked to do more, along with Holden Staes and Cooper Flanagan and those guys. You don’t make up for the production that Mitch gave our offense with one guy. Every person in that tight ends room will be asked to do more. I’m confident they’ll be able to.”

Q: Beyond coaching his position, how much is Mike Mickens involved with the bigger picture on defense? Is he a guy that projects as a coordinator?

MF: “I absolutely think Mike Mickens is ready to be a defensive coordinator, and so we gave him the passing game coordinator title during the offseason. He is a tremendous football coach schematically and in the fundamentals of playing the cornerback position. One of the greatest things he does is the way he evaluates. I’ve said this story before, but at Cincinnati I wasn’t standing on the table for Sauce Gardner when we started recruiting him. And Mickens did. Mickens said this is the guy that we need here. We knew right away when he got to campus he’s special. The same thing goes for the guys in this room now. He’s a great evaluator, and then he’s a great developer of the cornerback position. As far as the schematics, he has a brilliant mind. They’re all, in that defensive room, collaborative on the game plan. I firmly believe Mike Mickens is ready to be a defensive coordinator.”

Q: You said there’s still another level for this team. What does that look like? How do you get them there?

MF: “It starts with our preparation. That’s my challenge to them on a Monday. We have to believe it’s the way we prepare that gives us the opportunity to have the outcome that we have on Saturday. So, my challenge to myself is to figure out, OK, what are we doing in preparation and where can we enhance? Then I’m going to challenge every individual, every coach, every player, to raise the level even more this week. Because we know Clemson’s going to have a great week of preparation. We have to exceed that. We have to challenge ourselves to practice better on a Monday through Friday than our opponent. That’s going to be challenging to do. But I do believe in my heart that we have another level in the preparation that will give us a chance to have success on Saturday.

"The message to the guys today in the team meeting will be is I don’t think we’re playing better because we’re doing more. I think we’re playing better because our kids are playing with more velocity, because they know what they’re doing, why they’re doing and how they’re doing it. That’s the belief that I have as the head coach, and they all have to believe in themselves. I would rather do a few things at level 10 than a lot of things at level 7. That’s the message I’m going to give to them. We have to do the things we’re asking our players to do at the highest level. Once they master those things we’re asking them to do, then they’ve earned the right to do more. But as you go backs a few weeks ago, it was, hey, let’s simplify. Let’s simplify what we’re doing so our guys can play fast. And I think that’s what you’re seeing on Saturdays.”

Q: What do you think of when you think of Clemson? What kind of atmosphere are you going to be in Saturday?

MF: “I view Clemson as one of the premier programs in college football. What Coach Swinney has done with that program over the course of his time there has been second to no other program in college football. It is extremely impressive. They recruit at a high level, they have an unbelievable culture and they play at a high level. That’s why I want to make sure everybody in our program understands: don’t let the 4-4 record reflect the team. Just watch the film. They are as talented as any team we’ve faced this year across the board. We have to understand that. I’ve never personally been to Clemson. We have some coaches on our staff — we have Coach Stuckey that played at Clemson and we have players that have played there that continue to remind us of the challenging environment it will be. Any great competitor’s going to look forward to the opportunity to go down there and play.”

Q: When Clemson’s offense is doing well, what has been a common denominator?

MF: “It’s the ability to run the ball. That’s what you’ve seen them put probably a bigger emphasis on the running game of their offense. They have threats downfield, but I think what they’re trying to do is continuously find ways to run the football with two backs, one back. I don’t know what exactly what we’ll get depending on what happens with No. 1 (Will Shipley) being able to play or not. It’s an interesting part of their offense. What they’re going to do if they have one back or two backs. That presents some challenges in the run fits.”

Q: What did Cooper Flanagan show in August and early September that led to him being in a position to play all season?

MF: “One was the ability to grasp what we’re asking him to do on offense, but two, he presents a skill set that’s a little bit different in terms of the power that he’s able to block with. He blocks with a physicality that not everybody in that room has. He’s also developing in the pass game. He’s doing some things in practice in the pass game that is really impressive. That kind of was the No. 1 reason we said, OK, he has a different skill set than some of the other guys in that room. But two is the ability to continue to get better as we’ve gone throughout the season.”

Q: What have you seen from Clemson QB Cade Klubnik on tape?

MF: “He’s a talented player. I think I heard Coach Swinney says there’s nothing like experience. You have to go through some of the ups and downs of being a first-year starter in the ACC and college football presents. He’s as talented of a quarterback as you’ll see. He’s a really good player. I know they’ve had some turnovers. What you realize is that not all turnovers are on the quarterback even though they take the blame for it. He’s a really good player that can really run an elite offense.”

Q: In what ways has Al Golden put your defenders in a position to succeed?

MF: “He’s put them in a great position. The work he puts into it, the game plan, the ability to convey his message to get what he wants from his players has been great. What you see on Saturdays is a reflection of what our players know. We can spend endless amount of time coming up with game plans, but at the end of the day it’s what they can do, what they understand and then they can do and go perform it. That’s a credit to Coach Golden and our defensive staff for the performance of our defense this whole season.”

Q: What does Chris Tyree’s story mean for the culture of your program?

MF: “You’ve heard me use this phrase before. Chris Tyree is a great example of the bumpy road to better. It wasn’t how he proceeded on the front end and changing position. And even when you change positions, you start off good and then you had growing pains. Good game, bad game, but he just continues to work at it. Now you’re making plays in special teams. It is a great of example of I want to say resiliency but even anti-fragile. A guy that can move positions, have setbacks and get better because of it. I think he’s still getting better. He’s a guy I hope will come back for another year. He is just starting to scratch the surface of how good he can be as a wide receiver for our program and a punt returner.”

Q: How does the conversation happen with you asking Gerad Parker to take more shots? Do you ask for a certain number of plays? Do you pick the plays?

MF: “No. It’s more of meetings early in the week of mentality. I don’t put a number count on it. But it’s a mentality that, hey, I want to be aggressive. I want to take shots down the field. If during the game at some point I say, ‘Hey, take a shot.’ I can easily get on the headset and say that. But to me the work is put in through the game plan and through the preparation of that mentality for taking shots has to be really fed through our players, too. The understanding that we’re going to take shots. No matter what the result is, we have to continue to do it. As a coordinator, when you hear that from the head coach, it gives you the freedom. OK, we’re going to continuously be aggressive and aggressive even if the result isn’t what we want. The very first interception, it’s not considered a shot, but that doesn’t affect the next series. I want you to be aggressive and push the ball down the field.”

Q: Is it a silver lining now that the younger wide receivers were able to develop while some of the others were out injured?

MF: “When I think about last Saturday, one we have a talented room. I do believe we have a talented room. But we need to give those guys a chance to play at the fastest speed they can. That’s meaning maybe shrinking what we’re asking them to do. The one unique thing about the University of Pitt is that you know the three, four things you’re going to see defensively. So you can really say, ‘OK, here’s the way we want to attack them. We have to win some 50-50 balls.’ That’s what I hope Coach Parker and those wideouts really feel great about is that, OK, we were able to play fast, because we knew these were the four or five things we were going to be asked to do, so we could practice it and perform it at a really high level.”

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Q: “You’ve had a lot of success, especially early in the year, with tempo at the end of the first half and scoring. But generally, you don't run a lot of tempo. Does that reflect your philosophy? Offensive coordinator Gerad Parker's philosophy? Maybe the personnel that you have?

MF: “I want to be able to have tempo as a tool. I don't want to major in tempo. But I do think, going from a defensive mindset, if I know the offense has the ability to go tempo, that presents challenges. And so, I don't want to major in it, but I do want to have ways to change the tempo of how our offense goes. Now, that could be tempo out of a huddle. That can be different shifts/motions, and then run a play without really giving the defense time to line up. I think there are different ways to create it without just going rapid fire, as fast as you can.”

Q: We got to see Steve Angeli for the first time in a while the other day. Your impressions of his overall development and how much does it help your evaluation of his development when you can see him in that game setting and not just at practice?

MF: “He had a great performance, almost 100% [completion rate]. In talking with [QBs] coach [Gino] Guidugli after the game, Steve is a guy we have a lot of confidence in. And to see the way he performed, the decisions he made — the one touchdown to Cooper [Flanagan], he made a really difficult throw look easy. To be able to roll out to your left and set up and throw the ball across your body to Cooper, that was a challenging throw. But we have a lot of confidence in Steve Angeli. It’s a credit to the way he prepares. And I think he'll be the first one to tell you that Sam [Hartman] has helped him enhance his preparation process. But when he gets a chance, go perform, and [he] does it. And I’m really proud of him and I'm really glad that he had the performance that he had.”

Q: When you look at both the short- and long-term progression and development of the quarterback position, is there any benefit in getting him in any more high-leverage-type situations the rest of this season?

MF: “Yeah. If we have the opportunity to get Steve — or any of those guys — in the game, we should. I mean, the meaningful [reps] versus an opponent is a lot different than just practice. You're not going to get hit in practice. And so, anytime we can do that, we're definitely going to do it. Now, the No. 1 objective is to make sure we win and to put our team in a position to be successful. That can be in multiple, different ways, but more importantly, if we had a chance to put Steve — or any of those guys — in a game, we definitely want to.”

Q: Have you had time to assess some of the things that went wrong in your last road game at Louisville? And, if so, as you go back on the road, what are some of the things you’ve identified?

MF: “I look at every game as its own identity, and the one thing you learned from a road game this season was at Duke, with the many pre-snap penalties that we had. That was something we had to address, and how we want to use cadence when you have crowd noise. Louisville? Five turnovers, for different reasons. The short-yardage situations that we didn't have success with. Those are, to me, the situations where you say, ‘How do we make sure this doesn't happen?’ And, as the head coach, I look at how we practice. I look at what we're doing. All I want to do is just make sure we give our guys a chance to play fast. And so, there are many teaching opportunities in that Louisville game. But there's been, obviously in the past few weeks, still teaching opportunities to get better.”

Q: There are a lot of guys who could come back for a fifth or sixth season. Those are conversations that happen at the end of the year, obviously, but how much do you monitor that at this point of the season and start to have those conversations?

MF: “You're always aware of it. You're aware of it, and they know that they have decisions to make to be fair to themselves, if they plan on moving forward or to come back, and to be fair to us in terms of how we replace that roster spot. So, I'm always aware of it. We don't have daily conversations about it, because I want them to focus on getting the performance that you want on Saturday. But going into the second bye week, you’re probably going to have more conversations, and then at the end of the season.”

Q: How would you evaluate Sam Hartman’s play on Saturday, especially considering the two interceptions early? Was there anything said to him or what kind of corrections were made after that?

MF: “With the first one it’s, again, quarterbacks get the blame for and the credit sometimes for what they do or don’t do. We’ve got to make sure we're on the same page with the route. I thought that was a good ball he threw. That defensive back made a heck of a play. He made a heck of a play. And that goes back to our conversations about [taking] shots. Be aggressive. He comes to the sidelines, and coach Parker is saying, ‘Be aggressive. Keep taking those shots. How can we make sure that ball isn't intercepted?’ There are a couple of different ways that we have to continue to work at it.

“The second one, the middle ’backer made a good play. Would have loved to stick the ball a little bit farther to try to get him to come up on play-action a little bit more, and throw it over his head. But, as I said before, Sam is so consistent in his approach, series by series. So, you don't need to talk to him. Again, I talked with the coaches. I say, ‘Sam, we're good, man. Go get it fixed. Let’s go.’ But I’ve got to get on the other line [on the headset] with the defense. But I know the communication from coach Parker to coach Guidugli to Sam is really good. And the way he responded after those two interceptions was a reflection of Sam Hartman. He is a consistent individual, and always responds with the proper response.”

Q: What are some commonalities of the two cultures of Clemson and Notre Dame football, and what are some things with Clemson’s culture that maybe you'd want to adapt into yours?

MF: “I guess I've probably misspoke a little bit. I'm not in their building every day. When I watch a film, to me, I can see a culture of a team that plays extremely hard. They're talented. When I see the culture, it’s guys that play really, really hard. It's a reflection of their coach. And when I see talented football players on the field, it’s a reflection of the way they recruit. And so, that's what I see when I watch Clemson football over the course of the years. Talented individuals who play extremely hard. National Champions. Here's a great résumé that [Dabo Swinney] has. You're a fool if you don't try to emulate some of that in terms of what Clemson is doing really well that could help this program continue to enhance. And so, I want people to watch Notre Dame football players and say, ‘Those guys play really hard.’ That's the greatest compliment that a coach can receive is that his guys play extremely hard, extremely physical. But the second point, I want them to see great football players on that field, which speaks to recruiting. That's what I've seen when I watch Clemson football.”

Q: What did you like about the running game against Pitt? And what from that can apply this Saturday against Clemson?

MF: “It was a unique game where we would call one play, and it would go for 12 [yards]. And then we’d call it the same play, and the execution just wasn't where you wanted and it would go for three or four. I’m greedy. I want 12 to 15 on all of them. But I was really pleased with the commitment we had to those run schemes that we ran in the game, and there is mis-IDing. Those are things that frustrate you as a coach, when we're not IDing the right people. Like, that's a coaching problem. We’ve got to fix that. There was none of that. There was obviously some execution, fundamental errors that we have to improve, but I love when I see our guys in the right spot, going to the right people, running the ball hard. Now, we’ve got to continue to fix the execution, the fundamentals of finishing those blocks. The other thing I loved — more than anything — was the way our wideouts blocked. And that was a point of emphasis from everybody — from me, from coach Parker, from [wide receivers] coach [Chansi] Stuckey. We had to block the safeties.

“We know how Pitt plays. Man, you go back, that's going to be one of the first things I talk about when we have team meetings, because that was a huge point of emphasis and a huge reason why we could have success running the ball. The first touchdown, I think, that Audric had. You see Sam Hartman go run up to Jayden Thomas, because he knew that was a point of emphasis. Jayden comes and makes a great block. Audric just breaks it, and it's a touchdown. And that’s a point of emphasis. And that's what I really, really loved about our run game this past week.”

Q: How does the familiarity with playing a team in consecutive seasons impact game-planning going into this week?

MF: “It'll be a little bit different, because of their new offensive coordinator [Garrett Riley, USC coach Lincoln Riley’s brother]. Now, a lot of the players are the same. The defense, obviously, same defensive coordinator. But offensively it's still a little bit of —people say, ‘It's just USC.’ It's Clemson. He has his own wrinkles in terms of what they're doing offensively. So, that presents its own challenges for our defense. But offensively we know. We've seen them. They're really good at what they do. They’re aggressive. They give you multiple, different looks. And so, it's a challenge, even though we played them last year, the same defense. It's going to be a huge challenge for all of us.”

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