SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The first-class seats on Notre Dame football charter flights to and from Dublin, Ireland weren't reserved for the Irish coaching staff. Instead, head coach Marcus Freeman gave those seats to Notre Dame's starters for Saturday's 42-3 win over Navy.
A well-rested Jack Kiser, a graduate senior linebacker who recorded a team-high tackles against the Midshipmen, shared the flight seating chart revelation during an interview on campus Tuesday evening.
"I’ve been great," Kiser said when asked if he was dealing with any jetlag upon return to South Bend. "We were educated and given a good game plan on how to adjust. Coach Freeman made a big decision that the starters were going to get first-class seats and have those little pods. That was a gamechanger.”
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Kiser said he and his fellow starters didn't learn of their prime seating situation until the team was getting ready to ride buses to South Bend International Airport for the flight. It allowed Kiser to get some sleep with more room to himself.
"Very thankful that [Freeman] made that decision. Even him on the way back was sitting back in economy — all the coaches," Kiser said. "That just shows what kind of person Coach Freeman is and how much he cares about the players and takes care of us. We really appreciated that. It was actually awesome. It was a great experience.”
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Notre Dame starting quarterback Sam Hartman, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest and a team captain, gave his first-class seat to tight end Holden Staes on the flight from South Bend to Dublin. Staes also made his second career start in the game and played 39 offensive snaps.
"It was cool to see that," Kiser said.
Kiser opted to remain in first class.
"Everybody was pretty excited," he said. "I felt guilty honestly. Because I’m seeing all your friends going to the back of the plane. You’re like, ‘Gosh dang.’ But it was awesome.”
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