Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman held a press conference Monday at Notre Dame Stadium, previewing Saturday's home game between his AP 17th-ranked Irish (8-3) and 3-8 Stanford (7 p.m. EST; Pac-12 Network). Here's everything he had to say. Answers are largely verbatim. Question are edited for brevity and clarity.
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OPENING STATEMENT
“Saturday was a great way to finish off this season as our last home game for the season. I was really pleased with the performance in all three phases. The ability for the offense and defense to adapt and adjust to some different looks. Offensively, I thought they did a really good job of mixing in tempo and some RPOs, and running the ball really well and finding ways to get the ball into the hands of our playmakers. And getting multiple playmakers on the field at the same time. We did some different things, trying to get a couple of different wideouts on the field in different packages, but at the same time.
“I told [offensive coordinator Gerad] Parker, the ability to go 5-for-5 in the red zone is something I don’t think we've done all year. And so, that was huge in terms of finishing with points, finishing with touchdowns in the red zone. And I thought those young guys, the wideouts, but even Ashton Craig and Billy [Schrauth] in their first starts, really performed at a high level, and I was pleased at that and their preparation, the way the coaches got them ready.
“Defensively, seven points is obviously a great performance by our defense. I think they held them to less than 100 yards passing. I told [defensive coordinator Al] Golden that was a really good job. And we talked at length about our pass defense that, as I said postgame in the press conference, you’ve got to be good at stopping the run with a lighter box when you want to play pass defense. But also, you’ve got to be OK with giving up a four-yard run, five-yard run. Where it's probably changed a little bit from my time as defensive coordinator, if they got more than a yard, you were frustrated. So, I'm going to pressure and do some things. But it's the ability for us to be, ‘OK, they got four. They got three here. But at the end of the day, you keep them out of the end zone, and we'll be successful.’ And the pass defense has been tremendous for us as we continue to move forward.
“And then special teams blocked a field goal, surprised [Wake with an] onside kick. The execution of that was really good to see. So, players of the game, for offense, is Sam Hartman, JD Bertand on defense and then Javontae Jean-Baptiste on special teams, with the blocked field goal. And then scout [team] players of the week were Chris Velotta on offense, Jaiden Ausberry on defense, and Chase Dixon on special teams.
“Turning the page to Stanford, [we’re] really motivated for the opportunity to play for the Legends Trophy. For many of the guys up here last year, they understand how disappointing that loss was to them, and there won't be a lack of motivation this week to go compete for that trophy in this great rivalry that dates back for many years. And we understand how important it is to this university, but also to our football program. So, looking forward to getting back together today. studying and learning from the opportunities that we had in Wake Forest, but also turning the page and getting ready for this great opportunity on Saturday. So, with that, I’ll open it up for questions.”
Q: How do you take all three phases — offense, defense, special teams — on the road now and play with that swagger and confidence that they showed on Saturday?
Marcus Freeman: “Obviously two of our three losses have been on the road. You look at the Clemson game, look at the Louisville game, and we haven’t performed to our standard on the road. And, as I told the coaches, I don't want to make this only a road issue, but we haven’t performed to our standards. So, as I studied those games, we’ve got to start better. I think both of those games — we were down to Clemson, 7-3, and then Louisville, I think 7-0 to start the game. And we’ve got to — from the first play of the game — have the mentality that we're going to have to go out there and win the interval on this play. We can’t lose it in any game. And so, it's my job to make sure we are mentally and physically prepared. And, as I told them, it's their job too to make the choice that we're going to be mentally ready to go. And so, there's no one answer that can guarantee it’s going to happen, but it won't be from a lack of effort by myself and our coaching staff to make sure this group is ready.”
Q: What can you tweak as far as messaging or schedule or anything just to maybe change it up, to make sure you do start better?
MF: “I'm going to plan on changing a little bit of the structure — not the overall of how we're practicing, but maybe the structure and have some more competitive periods early in practice, so that it's just like a game. I don't want to go through stretching and then individual [drills] and then group work and then team [periods]. That's usually how you kind of structure practice — your individual, group work, team. But I'm probably going to start with some team good-on-good [1s-vs.-1s] situations early in practice just to give them the right mindset of ‘OK, whenever we say go, it’s go.’ And I'm going to try to do that in practice.”
Q: Play action was very successful against Wake Forest. How much of that was Wake-dependent or how much is that something that you guys know needs to be a part of your offense?
MF: “I think that is definitely a part of our offense that we believe we have to continue to get better at. When you have success running the ball, play action, obviously, is a complement to that. They were doing some things defensively that gave us an opportunity to have some success with the play-action game and some RPOs too, especially. We really did a good job of hitting on the RPOs. But that is an area of offense that we’ll continue to have to grow and get better. But if we want to continue to have performances like last week, we’ve got to be successful in our play-action passing.”
Q: We've seen Steve Angeli get some meaningful reps at the end of games, and he's looked pretty good. How much has that shaped what you think of Steve Angeli, just being able to see that on the game field, even maybe in some moments that aren't high-leverage?
MF: “The confidence that he's building in our program is evidenced by his performance on Saturdays. He works tirelessly in practice, does a great job in practice, but again, until you do it in a game, that true confidence and belief isn’t totally there. He's done an excellent job. I'm so proud of him, and it's a reflection of how he prepares. He's ready for whenever his number's called, and so we have a lot of confidence in Steve Angeli.”
Q: You’re 14-4 since the loss to Stanford last year. How much of that is just your program settling in and taking root and developing?
MF: “When you say that, I think about the four losses. I'm growing as a leader. Our program is continuing to enhance. We have to continue to get better. There are parts of our program we have to continue to get better, and it starts with making sure, as the head coach, that everybody is ready to perform when it matters the most, but also the way we prepare. It's great when you think 14-4. It's a credit to our players, our coaching staff, in terms of the growth we've made, but there's a tremendous amount of growth we can continue to still do.”
Q: What are those growth steps, both in the near term and big picture, as you try to move this program where you want it?
MF: “The ability to win some of those close games. I know, obviously, we did beat Duke this year. but you think about the Ohio State game — one-possession, one-play game could have resulted in a different outcome. You think about Clemson, it's an eight-point game, and the plays that you want back. And, as I've said this previously, I think it's easy to just say, ‘One play here, one play there,’ but what other aspects of your program’s performance can you continue to enhance to make sure that you're getting the outcome you want? And so, it's a process.
“It's a process of getting to that point that we have to continue to keep diving in, keep figuring out, keep working at it, because it will never stop. You'll never arrive. You'll never be at the point where you say, ‘We got it.’ It's just a constant work, a constant preparation. And then on game days, you go and play. You test to see where your group’s at, but we want to make sure we're on the right side of all those 18 games, not 14 of 18.”
Q: Al Golden came out really aggressively defensively against Wake Forest, blitzed a lot, put a lot of pressure on the quarterback, and then [Wake Forest offensive coordinator Warren] Ruggiero adapted a little bit and ran some gadgets. Stanford has even more, right? Two quarterbacks could be on the field at the same time? How do you prepare for everything that that offense has to offer? And then adjustments?
MF: “It’s funny, I walked into coach Golden’s office on Sunday. There's like a mad scientist’s stuff all over the board. I hadn’t even started looking at Stanford, but they're going to have a lot for you to prepare for. But at the same point, you still want your guys to have the ability to play fast. And so, you never can prepare for everything. You have to have answers for everything, but you can't over-prepare for them, because now you're going to paralyze your players. They can't play fast.
“And so, I think the greatest thing is the ability to have those answers. And we truly had to switch our game plan at halftime [against Wake Forest] to some things we didn't practice all week, because of what they were doing. We were practicing against a slow-mesh [offense], and we didn't really see a lot of that slow mesh until late in the game. But that's what it's about. It's about its ability to have the answers that your players understand. It's a game of adjustments. We'll have to do the same thing versus Stanford.”
Q: Having a guy like JD Bertrand out there running things sure makes it a lot better?
MF: “When you have JD and some of those older guys, but also guys that have been in that system now for two years. And so, it's not creating new defenses, but saying like, ‘Hey guys, we didn’t practice this, but we need to do this to stop what they're doing offensively.’ When you can do that and your players can understand it and go out there and perform and practice fast, that's when you see a lot of success. But that takes time, because in the first year, you might have answers, but your players can’t understand how to play fast. Whereas, as you get experience and you have time, I think the answers that you have and the ability for them to understand and go perform it, it’s greater.”
Q: You had some communication issues offensively at the end of the first half and also in the series after the onside kick. What are some of the issues that arise that create these problems? You could see that Sam Hartman was a little agitated about the whole communication process.
MF: “The one before half was a wristband error kind of thing. Read the wrong one, and it’s happened plenty other times this year. And that's the point of sometimes not wanting to signal everything and be able to change up how you communicate from sideline to your quarterback. At times you might read the wrong wristband number. And I think at that point, Sam was like, ‘That's not the play we want right now.’ And so, there was communication [error], so that’s why we called timeout. But it's a part of the game, and we want to be flawless. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure on the next play, on this play, let's make sure we execute the right way.”
Q: Does the new media rights deal with NBC make your life easier in any way, whether it's recruiting or anything else to have that out there now?
MF: “I think it definitely does, because it adds to the value of what Notre Dame provides. And that's the ability for us to go sell that in recruiting. You know, you're the only college football program with its exclusive network. And, to me, it's that Notre Dame value, the value that this place truly provides you, And so credit to [athletic director] Jack [Swarbrick] and his team, and Pete [Bevacqua] and the ability to get this deal done. But it will definitely be beneficial for us in recruiting, because people want to know they're special. And I believe when you get a chance to play at Notre Dame and you have some of those things that you just mentioned, you realize how special it is.”
Q: Xavier Watts was not recognized before the game the other day with the seniors. Can we read anything into that?
MF: “A lot of those guys that might be going into their fourth year, I had a conversation with earlier. Do you want to be considered a senior this year? And he was one of them who did not. And so, I don't know what he's going to do with his future, and I'm sure that's what this question pertains to. But I don't know, and he hasn't made a decision. But he didn't want to be considered a senior.”
Q: How much is the Stanford loss from last year going to be a talking point this week knowing that this is a completely different Stanford team?
MF: “The schematic aspect to it won’t matter, but the motivation to understand how important this game is will matter. I want to make sure they understand it, especially for those guys that weren’t here. It’s important. Everybody gets motivation in different ways. But part of our motivation is going to be for the respect of this rivalry. It will be brought up at multiple points during this week.”
Q: How close was Zeke Correll to playing last week? What’s the status for this week? How much confidence would you have in Ashton Craig as your center next year if Correll moves on?
MF: “He was not close. He wasn’t clear. He was in concussion protocol. And he’s still in. We expect him to be back this week, but that’s up to the doctor’s decision. We have a lot of confidence in Ashton. I’ve seen it in practice. I’ve seen it just from talking with coach Rudolph. I’m really proud of the way he performed in his opportunity he had here on Saturday. I’m really positive about the outlook of our future at the center position.”
Q: Do you anticipate getting Deion Colzie back this week?
MF: “No.”
Q: Since the freshman wide receivers played so well Saturday, can you be more careful with using Jayden Thomas and Matt Salerno as they’re coming back from injuries?
MF: “Yeah. JT again was not 100%. He’s still progressing back to his full 100%. Because when he’s at 100%, he can really help us on offense. Salerno, obviously, this was his first week of any live action. So we were able to get him in there some. At the end of the day, we have to put the guys on the field that we truly believe are going to help us in that moment have as much production as we can. But I have full confidence in a lot of guys in that room. Whoever is on the field, we’re going to be able to run offense to where we need it to be.”
Q: Now that you’re at the end of the regular season, do you talk big picture with your team about the bowl possibilities and what they’re playing for?
MF: “That was bye week. I spent a lot of time during the bye week to talk about — everybody needs hope, right? Hope and opportunity. I spent a little bit of time in the bye week talking about what we still have to play for and how good this team really can be. As I told them Tuesday of last week, we’ve turned the page from that. Now it’s about reaching our full potential and what it’s going to take to be successful on Saturday. The same thing as we go into this week. It’s about one game, one life. This one. The focus will be on the things that it takes to make sure that we have the performance we need to on Saturday. And then as we get into the bowl game, I’m sure I’ll figure out what I’ll talk about during that period. But I’m sure as we get close to that bowl game, I’m going to be talking about reaching our full potential.”
Q: What have you learned about Joe Rudolph’s ability to make the transition easier for first-time starters on the offense live with what he’s done this season?
MF: “Coach Rudolph is an excellent teacher. And I’ve seen that even as a player. I’ve talked about that before. As a defensive player at Ohio State, the ability to see somebody teach is something that was implanted in my brain as I went into last year looking for an offensive line coach. A lot of respect for him. Our coaches are really judged on the performance of their rooms. When you see two first-time starters perform at a high level, that is a reflection of their coaching. Their ability but their coaching. Coach Rudolph has done an excellent job with that entire offensive line unit to get them ready and to get them performing at a high level.”
Q: What has it been like getting to know Pete Bevacqua? What has he been like in some of the tough times?
MF: “Pete’s been great. Pete’s been excellent in his transition with Jack. He’s kind of like me last year. Just figuring it out, right? Figuring out what it is to be a college athletic director. He has been a great supporter, teammate, sounding board at times. I’m excited for the future of Notre Dame athletics with him.
“But also going to follow that up with obviously the respect and admiration of what Jack Swarbrick has done for Notre Dame athletics. It’s just mind-blowing some of the things that he’s created for this athletics program. He is leaving this place way better than he found it. That’s always the judge. I judge people based off — our seniors, Jack Swarbrick — is this place better than you found it. I say with whole certainty that it is. A lot of respect for Jack. I’m going to enjoy these last however long he’s going to continue to be around here with him. Because he is a dear friend, dear mentor and a person I have a lot of respect for.”
Q: How much different does Stanford look on film this year vs. last year?
MF: “Very different. It’s a different team. Unique offense. Do a lot of different things. The one thing I’ll say about Stanford is they play extremely hard on all three phases. They play hard. I have a lot of respect for a coach that gets their team to play that hard. But they’ve had to be adaptable to some injuries they’ve had. They lost their tight end. That was a really good tight end. Now they use that backup quarterback as a tight end, as a running back, as a quarterback. They’re going to give you more looks as you break them down than you can prepare for. So we’re going to have to be really good with our adjustments based off what we see on Saturday.”
Q: What’s your travel plan for this week?
MF: “We made the decision earlier in the year — usually we leave on Thursday. We’re going to leave on Friday. The reason being just from my feedback and dialogue is what’s best for their performance to keep it as normal as we have in the past. We have a great group that’s going to have a great plan for the four-hour and 15-minute flight out there. What we’ll do on the plan. We’ll feed them on the plane. We’ll try let them take a nap and keep them up and get out there. We have a plan for exactly when we land. Then it’s a 4 o’clock game in our minds when we’re out there. So that’s very similar to what we deal with here for our 3:30 games. We wanted to keep it as normal as possible even though it is a three-hour time difference. All these decisions that we make are to help performance. Nothing we do is just because. We believe this will help performance on Saturday. I have a good confidence that our guys will be ready to roll.”
Q: You need to feed them again after Thanksgiving?
MF: “Yeah. I think we’re going to feed them seven times on Friday.”
Q: What and how are you going to feed them on Thursday? What does Thanksgiving look like for the team and the coaches?
MF: “We’ll practice Thursday morning, and we’ll have a Thanksgiving meal as a team. Which is just great because especially during the season this is our family. We all look forward as a coaching staff and our whole football program, not just the coaching staff, to have Thanksgiving together. We’ll give them the evening off. Then we’ll get back on Friday and treat it like a normal Friday. We’ll have our normal walk-throughs, run-throughs here, meetings and then get on the plane and go.”
Q: Is it a night off for everyone or just the players?
MF: “That’s to be determined.”
Q: Have you had conversations about keeping Stanford on the schedule moving forward? How do you feel about that?
MF: “It’s an unbelievable rivalry. As you look at both of our institutions, the values we have in terms of student-athlete experience, the educational values that both universities provide. It’s a great rivalry that we’re going to try to continue to have as long as we can. As you guys know, those decisions are made by people above me. But I’m always a proponent of making sure we can keep this rivalry as long as we can.”
Q: What are you thankful for?
MF: “No journey is ever how you perceive on the front end. But you’re appreciative of the people you get to be on the journey with. That’s what I’m thankful for. The people that I’m surrounded by every day that are on the same journey as I am. The players, the coaches, every person in our football program, the endless work they put into to try to earn the outcome that we want. It’s not always the outcome we get. What we want isn’t always what we get. But they continue to work and continue to choose to love each other. It’s a special place. It’s a special football program. But this is a special place. I’m so thankful to be here with this university and this football program.”
Q: What was the difference between what this team is and what it could have been?
MF: “There are plays in every single one of those games that you wish you could take back. If you execute it, it’s a different record. But that’s a part of growth. Those great programs find a way to win those games. That’s what we’re all striving to be. We’re all striving to be that program that’s on the mountaintop. If we continue to learn from those tough losses. You’re going to learn from wins, but the tough losses, we can continue to learn from those and hopefully not repeat those mistakes. But also get to a place where if you have a mistake or two, which are going to happen in games, it doesn’t really determine the outcome of the game. Because that’s what we’re all evaluated by is the outcome. We have to make sure the process to getting that outcome is enhanced and improved. We’ll look back at this season at some point and say, ‘OK, where are the areas that we’re deficient and have to make sure we develop and improve at to become that team that has the desired results that we all want?’ That’s two games from now that we’ll look back and say, ‘OK, hey, this is where we really have to make sure we dive into the schematic aspect, the personnel aspect, the development aspect to get the results that we all want.”
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