Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman held a press conference Monday at Notre Dame Stadium, previewing Saturday's 2023 season opener between his 13th-ranked Irish and Navy in Dublin, Ireland (2:30 p.m. EDT; NBC/Peacock). Here's everything he had to say. Answers are largely verbatim. Question are edited for brevity and clarity.
OPENING STATEMENT
“I'm going to open up with: Really, I’m pleased with the way fall camp went. There were three things, as a head coach, I really wanted to get out of fall camp.
“One is, I wanted to build the depth of our team. I told you guys a couple weeks ago, there are a lot of guys that we're going to count on that do not have game experience. And so I'm pleased at the depth at certain positions that we were able to really get valuable reps in. We really forced the coaches to play some of those — what we would call — 2s in one-situations [against starters]. And let's see those guys develop and see what they can do when they're playing against some of the best.
“The second thing was I wanted to really get us physically ready to play a game but also keep us healthy. It's something that I looked at the injuries from last year in fall camp. I said, ‘We’ve got to find a better way to do this.’ And so, I think we were down over half of the concussions, and I know we just decreased in every soft-tissue/ligament injury in all facets of any body part. So, we really decreased the injuries. And I know the weather helped, but I think we're 79% down in dehydrations for fall camp. So, that was really — our team did a great job, just the sport-performance team, the medical trainers, our coaches really did a great job of keeping the guys healthy and making sure we have everybody we need as we get ready to go to Dublin, Ireland.
“And the last thing we really wanted to do is really increase our leadership. I believe that's what will be our edge, is our leadership. And we have a lot of leaders. We have a lot of guys that are in leadership positions. But I think the team did a great job, our coaching staff did a great job of really promoting leadership, helping to build leadership, putting them in positions.
“All of our seniors spoke to the team at some point about some of the lessons they've learned over their time here, and really tried to just create an environment of leadership to really promote that with our program. And with that being said, I haven't been here since we announced the captains, but I'm really pleased. And the four captains we announced and the team chose were Joe Alt, JD Bertrand, Cam Hart and Sam Hartman.
“It was a unique — it's only my second time collecting votes for captains, but we had 10 guys get double-digit votes. Those four, by far, ran with the most votes, ran away with the most votes, but it's encouraging to see 10 guys getting double-digit votes. It means that we have more than just four guys that are viewed in that captain's eye in terms of the other guys on our team.
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“The schedule for this week is we'll go [practice] today. Usually Mondays, we are more of a walkthrough practice, but being the first week [of the season], we will go today. It’ll be like a Tuesday practice. Tomorrow will really be a Thursday practice in our minds in terms of how long we'll be out there. And then Wednesday will be a normal Wednesday practice. And the thought is what I truly want to get out of Wednesday [is] I want them to be pretty tired as we get on this flight Wednesday night to fly over to Dublin.
“We’ll land in Dublin Thursday morning, go to the hotel, get unpacked and keep our guys up. We’re going to keep them up. Do some walkthroughs and stuff at the hotel, and then we'll go and we'll practice Thursday. And then Friday will be a little bit more intense than Thursday. Thursday, they'll be pretty jetlagged. And so, we have to be smart in terms of our structure once we get there. But I feel really good about the plan. We talked to a lot of different organizations that have kind of done similar trips and we felt like this was the best one. I'm looking forward to getting a chance to meet coach [Brian] Newberry. He's done a heck of a job as a defensive coordinator for Navy. I really respect what he's done. They've been really good on defense. And now, in his transition to being a head coach, I'm sure they will take after the head coach.
“I'm expecting to see a very aggressive, talented football team that plays extremely hard. They’ve shown that on film, and we're looking forward to the challenge, obviously. They have a new offensive coordinator, so that presents another challenge in itself. So, looking forward to that opportunity and truly grateful for the opportunity to play in the 2023 Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
“You know it's a series that goes back to 1927. And we're grateful for this rivalry, for the opportunity to play them. It's the 96th time we're playing, and so the third time in Ireland. What a great experience, a great opportunity for our program. Lastly, I want to give a quick shoutout to our O-line member, Brennan Wicks. Brennan is in the Navy ROTC here, and spoke to the team last week as part of his senior speech. But really [he] talked about how once he graduates here, he'll go and he'll serve. And so, this is a special week for him, obviously, being a part of the Navy ROTC here. But [I] wanted to give him a special shoutout for what he does for our program.
“Injury updates: Kevin Bauman and Aiden Gobaira both had successful surgeries. Both had successful ACL surgery. Both recovering well. Just starting her rehab toward getting back. And then Michael Carmody had hand surgery. He fell in practice last week, and ended up breaking a bone in his hand. So, he had hand surgery last week, but he’ll make the trip over to Ireland with us. So with that, I'll open it up for questions."
Q: To continue the injury questions, we know center Zeke Correll missed some time last week with an ankle injury. What are the hurdles he needs to clear this week to play on Saturday?
Marcus Freeman: “He's been progressing really well. He'll practice today, and we expect him to be able to go. He's progressing really well. I'm going to see him go out there and practice today. We kind of held him out last week, but today we are pushing to go. And he's been doing a great job in rehab and recovery. So, I think today will tell us a lot.”
Q: And as for the guys that will be lining up next to him, Pat Coogan and Rocco Spindler, can you talk about what you saw from those guys throughout camp that allowed them to assert themselves as starters at the guard spots?
MF: “Our guard battles were really, really good. The competition amongst those guys was what you want to see. I think Rocco and Pat both just — the confidence they built in our coaching staff, the trust of them being able to do their jobs on a consistent basis was why they'll be in there to start the game. And so, I feel really good about the depth of our guard position. You know, Billy [Schrauth] had a great fall camp. But those two guys, man, had a really good fall camp in terms of just the execution. All of them are physical. All of them have the traits that you look for in offensive guards, but the overall execution of what they were asked to do on a consistent basis is why those guys will be starting for us.”
Q: You referenced a number of metrics there in terms of preseason camp and the ways that you guys are healthier or fresher based off last year. What all did that entail for you to get to this point?
MF: “So, part of every time I get up here, I often say ‘challenge everything’, right? And it's a part of growth. It’s a part of [taking] the experience of last year and saying, ‘OK, how can we get better in terms of how do we make sure this group of guys are ready to play this first game?’
“That's what it's about, is getting this group ready to perform at its highest level for the first game. And so, it was meeting with a group of individuals, our sports-performance team, really kind of researching other ways of doing it. And coming up with an original plan that we tweaked, tinkered with throughout the fall camp.
“There were times I would say, ‘OK, maybe we have to cut a period.’ Or ‘Maybe we could keep going here.’ And really look at the numbers after each practice and say, ‘OK, next practice, this is probably where we need to adjust.’
“And so, there's not just one clear blueprint of: This is how you're going to do it and just stick to it. For me, it was like, ‘OK, how do you evaluate?’ You have a plan going in, and how do you adapt and adjust based off what the results kind of showed you? And so, it's no different than coaching football. You have a plan going in, and you have to be able to adapt and adjust. Adaptability is so important. So, that's kind of what happened. Yeah, we created a new plan based off last year's evidence, based off research of other people and other ideas, but the ability to really be adaptable post-practice was extremely important.”
Q: Devyn Ford mentioned the other day that it's by far the freshest he's ever felt coming out of the camp. I wonder what kind of feedback you've heard from Ford or Sam Hartman or any of the other guys who have been at other programs, and then players also within this program?
MF: “You know, it's good to hear that some of your players feel fresh. I don't want to base my decision off of what they're always saying. They're hurt and great. That's a part of the growth [that] we need to be prepared [for]. But the feedback’s been good, and maybe it’s not so much with me, but they’re spending more time with their position coaches and trainers than they are with me.
“And so, I’m able to hear different things from coaches, from trainers that, ‘Hey, you are feeling good.’ But it's more. So what you see, like there are going to be practices where I wouldn’t expect them to be feeling great, right? That's intentional. But there’s also saying, ‘I want to make sure that the build-up to those night practices, when we turn on the film of those night practices that we had in fall camp, I want to see guys truly practicing at their highest speeds and their highest level.’ So, it's great to hear those things, but I have to make sure that I have a plan and it's adaptable to maybe what the science says or maybe what my gut feeling is.”
Q: What makes the triple-option offense so difficult to defend?
MF: “You don't see it often. You don't see triple-option offenses often in college football. And you have to be so disciplined. Our guys defensively, they’re used to being able to do your job, but [also] finding a way to get to the ball, finding a way to make a play happen at times. When you play the triple option, you might not ever make a tackle with a guy on the ball. But you do have to do your job, and it's something that is extremely difficult. Now, you're going against a coordinator — like we had to watch Kennesaw State. That's not what Navy did last year. And so, we have to prepare for a lot of different things that we might see. And so, it will be a challenge. We have a great plan. I love the plan that coach [Al] Golden has come up with and what we're doing defensively, but it’s the ability to recognize, ‘OK, what is this offense trying to do?’ And then jump into that game plan.
Q: Does the triple option limiting possessions affect how your team approaches things offensively?
MF: “We’ve got to be efficient. We cannot go three-and-out. We’ve got to take care of the ball. And if we go three-and-out, as you look at last year’s second half, the first couple of drives we had three-and-outs and then we had an interception. Listen, Navy had the ball. The time of possession in the second half was a tremendous advantage to them. So, we have to be efficient on offense. We cannot have negative-yardage plays. We cannot go three-and-out.”
Q: Your history with Gerad Parker goes way back, but not in an offensive coordinator position. So where have you seen his growth since February when he became an offensive coordinator to now and then how do you get a feel for him as a play-caller?
MF: “We've had a lot of those situations in fall camp where it's unscripted. When you have a play-caller who's called plays for many years, a lot of times you script those things out, but it was something that me and Gerad talked about at length, about making sure, “Hey, coach, let me have some unscripted periods, so I can get used to continually calling plays.’
“We've been hitting it in walkthroughs. We'll go [through] walkthroughs and call it. Don’t script it out. Call it. And so, I think that helps him with what it's like to really continuously call plays. And I've been really pleased with the growth of him as a leader — him as a leader of a staff, him as the leader of the offense. He's done a tremendous job. His players truly buy into who he is as a leader. That's, to me, the reflection of a great leader, when your players start to speak the same language. When your players are acting very similar to the leadership in that offensive room or defensive room, it's a reflection of leadership. So, I'm really pleased what he's done.”
Q: What kind of plan is in place to mitigate the jetlag on Notre Dame’s return from Ireland? That’s something the 2012 team struggled with the following week.
MF: “I don’t know if the 2012 team stayed the night. They didn’t stay the night, so they came back right after the game. Whereas we’re going to stay the night, get up early in the morning and fly back. I’ve always been told coming west, you should be better because you’re gaining hours. So I’m less concerned with the trip back. But still, everything’s been planned out to the minute: what time we’re leaving, when we’re getting back, what are we doing when we get back. All those things have been planned out to the minute. Then you have to think about the next week of practice. Understand there still is going to be some fatigue when you travel from a different country back to here in Indiana. That has been taken into consideration in terms of the practice schedules for the following week. How do we make sure that we get out what we need, but take into consideration it’s going to be a full week of school, we played in a different country the previous Saturday and we have to be ready to perform? It all goes back to let’s look at the end result. We have to be ready to perform Saturday at 2:30 or 3:30, whatever time we play. OK, now how do we make sure we have a plan that our guys feel physically ready to perform that next Saturday.”
Q: We’ve been surprised by the defensive line development and depth. What are your thoughts on that evolution?
MF: “I am a little. I would be lying if I wouldn’t say that I was a little bit surprised. You have some guys who have not shown in the game — the Jason Onyes, the Junior Tuihalamakas, the Josh Burnhams, the Gabe Rubios. Those guys who really haven’t played much defense in game situations, we’re going to be able to count on them. We’re going to use those guys. Javontae played at Ohio State. We know what Rylie and Howard and some of those guys can do. Jordan Botelho’s had a really good camp. Coach Wash has done a great job. That’s been a room where at times you pull out Howard Cross and Rylie Mills and say, ‘Get Onye in there with the ones. Get Rubio in there with the ones. Let’s see what they can do against really good players.’ Our edges go against Joe Alt and Blake Fisher every day. That’s going to make you better or it’s going to expose you — one or the other. Coach Wash has done a great job of rotating those guys, finding roles for those guys and really developing the depth of that room.”
Q: What has Gi’Bran Payne done to be the No. 2 running back on the depth?
MF: “Consistency. Every couple days we talk about grades from practice. We grade practice, and we talk about who can you trust. Who’s dependable? That’s where Gi’Bran has truly elevated himself in terms of that running back room. Talent matters. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t talented. But there might be some guys that you might be he might be a tad bit more talented than [Payne]. But we want to play guys that we trust and are dependable. That’s what Gi’Bran has shown in protection, in taking care of the football, in doing his job. He’s been really good. He’s graded higher than anybody in that room. But we’ll need them all. We’ll need Jadarian Price. We’ll need Devyn Ford. We’re going to need Jeremiyah Love. All those guys will help us.”
Q: How did you get to a point mentally to accept that fewer reps at certain points in the preseason would be better in the long run for players?
MF: “It’s being able to say sometimes you don’t know. If there’s a better way to do it and somebody can explain it to me in a way that makes sense and I understand and agree with it, let’s do it. It’s a part of growth. Sometimes I think that’s what prevents people from growing. Head coaches need to be coached too. I need to be able to grow. I don’t have every answer. The ability for somebody to present something to me and say, ‘Hey Coach, from my expertise, this is what I think will help you perform.’ Because that’s what I want. I want high performance on game days. John Wagle and some of that sports performance team were able to present to me: If this is what you’re looking for on Saturdays, here’s different ways to get to that point. I was able to adapt and adjust myself as a leader and not just say, ‘No, this is the way I want to do things.’ I just want to do what’s best for the players. At the end of the day, that’s what matters.”
Q: What do you see as being a good season for Jaylen Sneed? And is it just at linebacker?
MF: “He’s going to help us in a lot of different ways. He is a talented, talented football player. We will find ways to get him on the field, because he makes us better when he’s on the field. We’re going to need all those guys in the linebacker room. What we do with Jaylen, where we play him, it will depend on each week. But Jaylen Sneed’s going to play for us, because he makes us a better team when he’s out there.”
Q: What are the unknowns about this Notre Dame team that may cause you some concern?
MF: “It’s tough, because you can never measure your team until you face an opponent. You often think about, ‘OK, are we doing what it takes to make sure this team is ready when we face an opponent?’ But the true test comes on Saturday. With that being said, I’m going to go back to our focus has to be on today. We have a team meeting at 1:45, and the only thing I’m going to talk to them about is winning today. We’ll get to Dublin, Ireland. We’ll get to the Navy game. Our only objective is to win today. I know that’s coach speak. I know coaches say it all the time, but it’s true. If I sit here daydreaming — I can use Saturday maybe to think about how to plan today, but if we don’t win today, then guess what? Saturday’s not going to be the result we want. So our focus has to be to win today. But Saturday we’ll get to measure what team we have.”
Q: Is it an advantage to open the season with Navy rather than playing it midseason?
MF: “100%. We’ve been able to prepare from spring ball to parts of the summer to parts of fall camp and then obviously two weeks to prepare for strictly Navy. It’s a tremendous advantage to play Navy the first game of the year, because the preparation that entails getting ready for them is obviously lengthened.”
Q: What did you see in Sam Hartman that gives you confidence heading into the first game of the season?
MF: “Going into his sixth year of experience. I didn’t mention this earlier, but Sam Hartman, this was his fourth time being named a captain. So three times at Wake Forest and then one time here. There’s no substitution for experience. None. I don’t care if you’re the head coach or the quarterback. That’s what gives me confidence in Sam Hartman. There’s nothing that’s going to be able to make him too high or too low. He’s thrown interceptions. He’s made bad decisions. He’s made great plays and long touchdown throws. He knows what to expect. That’s the No. 1 thing he brings, but he also makes those guys around him better. He’s starting to challenge other positions. He challenges his offensive line in his own way. He’s raising the play of the people around him. That gives me confidence that this guy — this ain’t his first rodeo. He’s been in the fire multiple times.”
Q: What are you seeing with the chemistry of Hartman with his receivers?
MF: “Tremendous. From where they were in the spring till now, it was a bumpy road. It continues to be a bumpy road. But it’s gotten much better. The trust is built over time. They’ll trust each other a lot more at the end of the season than they do. But we’re we’ve come from, it’s been great to see.”
Q: What’s the value of Chase Ketterer as scout team quarterback?
MF: “Usually on Sundays I let the coaches vote for Scout Team Player of the Week. I’ll tell you guys right now, he’ll be the Scout Team Player of the Week for sure. Chase not only knows how to run the offense, because he played it in high school, but Chase has a little bit of leadership abilities to him too. He’s a good athlete. He challenges the players. But also, I’m with the scout team right now, and a couple times I think he should pull it and he gave it. I said, ‘No, I want you to pull it.’ He said, ‘Well Coach, the end gave me a give read.’ OK, but I’m telling you to pull it. The look he’s been able to give us is invaluable. He’s been a huge part. This big week will be huge too. But he’s been a huge part of the development of our defense, but also the offense. He takes him out there and they work timing. They work all the different motions and the things that we need to demonstrate that the Navy offense does. Really grateful to have him this week and in our program.”
Q: What concerns you about what Navy’s defense has coming back? And how much does Sam Hartman change the game that you were able to use last year?
MF: “Really good defense. I’m a coach that always comes up here and says, ‘We have to be able to run the ball. Run the ball, because that opens up things in the pass.’ At times you can’t run the ball versus them, because they have more people than you can block. So we have to be able to utilize different formations and utilize our pass game at times to open up the run more. Very challenging defense. You guys might not see it, but we almost look at their defense like we look at their offense. It’s something you won’t see every week. You don’t see this type of defense often in college football. It presents a big challenge that we’ve been preparing for for months. What Sam does is presents a level of maturity. He’ll know the game plan. He’ll know the things he’s looking for. But the moment won’t be too big for him. He’s played in a lot of big games. I believe that he’ll put our offense in the right position to be successful.”
Q: How has the message changed internally with the players as you’ve said that you’re not so much focused on winning a national championship as you are winning every day?
MF: “We don’t talk about national championships. Jack Swarbrick came in and said, ‘Hey.’ He was talking to our team. He’s just an unbelievable speaker. He talked about what he saw in national championship teams. When he got done, I reminded the guys that’s a result of a lot of different things. Yeah, if we’re talking about a national championship football team, it’s easy to say, ‘Don’t talk about that. Talk about today.’ But even talking about Saturday, don’t worry about Saturday. Focus on today. I think our players understand, because you are in a competition today versus your opponent. We’re both practicing today, so who’s going to win today? That has to be your mindset. Stop worrying about Saturday. Saturday’s a result of what you do today. It’s a constant message preached to the team. We say, ‘One day one life,’ and we’re going to say, ‘Win the day.’ But it’s that focus of you can’t control Saturday. You can control right now and what’s right in front of you. You can’t control what happened on Friday at practice. You can control right now. That’s what I want the focus on. Then as you get to the game Saturday, don’t worry about four quarters of football and we have to finish the way we start. Focus on that first play. Guess what? After the first play, get ready for the second play. If you really think like that, the results will take care of itself. I know it’s coach talk. Still it’s the result. If you win or lose a game is what you’re really evaluated on. I get that. But that’s the result of a lot of different things. So we have to focus on the things we control and that’s today, the first play on Saturday and winning the moment. Win today and win these small moments. We’ll figure out the rest later.”
Q: When was that speech from Swarbrick?
MF: “Sometime during fall camp. We had him come talk to the team. He actually talked to the coaching staff at a retreat. He’s so intelligent. He speaks so well. I remember right after he got done, I said, ‘I need you to say those same things to our team. Coming from you, it’s different.’ He spoke to the team a couple weeks ago. Just an unbelievable job of saying I’ve been around, I think, 11 national championship teams since he’s been. I think 11 or 12. The most of any athletic director in Notre Dame history. Here are some of the things I’ve seen national championship teams possess. He kind of talked to our team about that. As I told our team, focus on what they possess. Don’t focus on the national championship. That’s the result of things. What are the things they did daily that would help result in a national championship?”
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