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Notebook: How Al Golden's ND defense has quietly but decisively evolved

Safety Xavier Watts (26) has been one of ND's ascending players during its recent defensive surge.
Safety Xavier Watts (26) has been one of ND's ascending players during its recent defensive surge. (Jeff Douglas, Inside ND Sports)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman had just finished having a late postgame dinner out with his family on Saturday night, only to come home to the USC-UCLA score-fest on television.

“I watched maybe a couple series, and I felt like I was working,” the Notre Dame head football coach said Monday of USC’s eventual 48-45 win that boosted the Trojans (10-1) to No. 5 in the polls.

“So, I turned it off and tried to go to bed and got at it (Sunday)."

If there was indigestion that came along with that initial glimpse of the nation’s No. 2 team in total offense (513 yards per game) and No. 3 in scoring offense (42.7 points per game) that his 13th-ranked Irish (8-3) face Saturday night in Los Angeles (7:30 EST; ABC), Freeman didn’t mention it.

Maybe it’s because of the way the Notre Dame defense that Freeman presided over last season as coordinator has quietly evolved under Al Golden into the nation’s No. 17 team in total defense.

Not only is that the highest-ranked defense the Trojans have faced in 2022, if Notre Dame somehow can maintain or improve that ranking over its regular-season finale and bowl assignment, it would mark the best finish for an Irish defense in that statistical category since the Manti Te’o-led 2012 Irish ended up seventh.

Notre Dame is coming off the program’s third-best defensive showing since 2010 (173 total yards allowed) in a 44-0 domination of, admittedly, an offensively flawed Boston College team this past Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.

USC will be the third top 10 offense, first-year defensive coordinator Golden’s unit has faced this season. And sophomore Caleb Williams, at No. 9 in pass efficiency nationally, is the third top 10 QB ND has matched up with — 1. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and No. 4 Drake Maye of North Carolina are the others.

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“His arm strength is one thing,” Freeman said during his weekly press conference of what separates Williams. “His decision-making is another. His ability to extend plays. He's one of the few guys I've seen just continuously break tackles. Yeah, he can make people miss, but he breaks tackles.

“Guys have their hands on him, and he continues to stay up, and that can be devastating to a defense. That can make you try to do something outside of what your responsibility is on defense.

“I want to make a play. I'm going to try to rush around this guy, instead of staying in my lane. You have to stay in your rush lanes, but you can't play cautious.”

The Irish are expected to get back two key defensive pieces that missed Saturday’s Senior Day victory — defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola (concussion) and safety Brandon Joseph (high ankle sprain). But senior cornerback Cam Hart is questionable after suffering a shoulder injury Saturday against BC.

That means more snaps for freshman and California product Jaden Mickey, who played a career-high 30 against the Eagles. That was the second-most among ND corners in that game to fellow freshman Benjamin Morrison.

"I saw those two (Mickey and Morrison) walking off the practice field (Sunday), just those two,” Freeman said. “And I just started laughing with (cornerbacks) coach (Mike) Mickens. I said, ‘You know what? That's what you want. Two young guys that are really close that are going to push each other but support each other.’

“Jaden Mickey is an ultimate talented individual. He's a really good football player that early in spring ball had a lot of success. Then, all of the sudden, we get to fall camp and he's had success, but then there were a little bit of growing pains. But it's making him better.”

The same could be said about the entire Irish defense.

Freeman had promised himself that when he went shopping for a defensive coordinator last winter to replace himself after being promoted, that continuity in scheme, style and terminology would be a high priority.

Then he broke that promise when he hired Golden off the Cincinnati Bengals’ staff once the Bengals finished their run to the Super Bowl.

“(Forcing Freeman’s scheme and methods on Golden) wasn't going to give Al Golden the opportunity to have success,” Freeman said. “Al Golden had to lead and schematically run the defense the way he feels most comfortable (with). That's something I learned, too, in our short time being together.

“I said, ‘OK, you're the defensive coordinator. Put your own staple on this.’ When you do that, though, it takes time to really understand every intricate detail of a scheme. That's what I think you've seen with our defense from where we started.

“There were new schematics to our defense and new things really to what we do defensively. From the start of the season ‘til now you've seen our players grow and our players learn.”

It was particularly tough on the linebackers, who were experiencing their third scheme, third defensive coordinator AND third different position coach in three years.

“What happens when our players learn and they’re not thinking about what's the call here?” Freeman continued. “How do we get lined up? They play a lot faster. They get lined up, they get the call, and they play fast.

“That's what I think you're seeing now, a defense that knows what we're doing, knows every intricate detail of the defense and now is playing at a high level, so they can let their athletic ability and the fundamentals take over.

“When you're thinking about how to get aligned and what check and all these different calls to make, it's hard to play fast, and that's where you've seen the growth.”

Where's Angeli?

As a season-high 70 Notre Dame players saw action this past Saturday against Boston College, including 12 scholarship players making their season debuts, backup quarterback Steve Angeli never left the bench.

It wasn’t an oversight.

Once open-day starter Tyler Buchner went down with a shoulder injury in game 2 against Marshall for the balance of the regular season, Angeli became the backup to new starter Drew Pyne. And the goal was to get the freshman as much game experience as possible, with no regard to trying to limit his participation to no more than four games and collect a redshirt year.

Then that philosophy changed.

“We made a decision a couple weeks ago, when (Angeli) played in his second game, that if we can redshirt Steve Angeli, we will. The opportunity to not play him (against BC) gives us two games to play him. So he can play in the USC game and the bowl game.

“It was very intentional to not play him this past game.”

Angeli has played a combined seven snaps in games against UNLV (Oct. 22) and Syracuse (Oct. 29).

Where's Buchner?

Last Thursday Freeman revealed injured QB1 Tyler Buchner had resumed practicing on a very limited basis and that he still had a January timeline for full recovery from a separation of his left (non-throwing) shoulder.

On Monday, Freeman said the updated recovery timeline may allow Buchner to play in a bowl game.

"That's still to be determined,” Freeman said. “Right now our doctors are not 100% sure. That will be based on how he progresses over these next couple of weeks.

“He's practicing more. Obviously, there's no contact with him. And so, we'll see. If it's what's best for him and he can be full go and be able to be healthy and protect himself and prepare for a bowl game, then shoot, there will be no hesitation to give him that opportunity.”

Portal poignancy

Roughly 42 percent of USC’s roster comprises players who either transferred from junior colleges or came to the school via the transfer portal from another four-year college, though not all in this past cycle. And those 36 transfers include some of the Trojans’ biggest stars, among them QB Caleb Williams (Oklahoma) and reigning Biletnikoff Award winner, wide receiver Jordan Addison (Pitt).

Notre Dame has four transfers on its roster — safety Brandon Joseph, defensive lineman Chris Smith, punter Jon Sot and kicker Blake Grupe.

Which sparked the question to Freeman as to whether he thinks there should be limits on portal additions.

"I don’t have the answer for the exact numbers,” he said. “My personal opinion on the portal is if used right, it can be really good for college athletics in terms of we've had guys come here and put in their time, get their degree and say, ‘I want to go somewhere else and play more.’

“You know what, that's great. Go and get another opportunity. Maybe things didn't go so well here, and you say, ‘I need to go somewhere else.’ If this isn't the right fit for you, great, you get another opportunity to go somewhere and play the game you love. But the only thing that I don't want it to encourage is when things get hard, we go and run to the portal.

“That's the only discouraging thing about it, is you’ve seen instances where when things get difficult, that portal is there for you to go run to and go try to find an easier way. I don't want to see young people make a mistake instead of embracing a challenge, embracing the discomfort that it takes to grow to maximize who you are as an individual by running to the portal and going to find an easier way.

“That's always my message to our guys. ‘Listen, stay and continue to fight, continue to work,

because if you do the right things and you work tirelessly, at some point you're going to get what you want. … If you can learn to fight and really persevere through those difficult times, this will help you throughout the rest of your life."

Marcus Freeman signs the Notre Dame Alma Mater with his players after ND's 44-0 win over Boston College on Saturday.
Marcus Freeman signs the Notre Dame Alma Mater with his players after ND's 44-0 win over Boston College on Saturday. (Jeff Douglas, Inside ND Sports)

Thanksgiving and thankfulness

The Irish will fly to Los Angeles on Thursday for the USC game, but not before having an early Thanksgiving dinner that day on campus with the players, coaching staff and coaches’ families.

On what Freeman is most thankful for?

"We don't have enough time to go over the many things I'm thankful for,” he said. “But I love these kids. I love these players. That's what makes being the head coach at Notre Dame special is that these young people are a lot of fun to coach. They're eager to be coached, eager to be led, and every day presents a new challenge. I'm so thankful to be their head coach and it's a lot of fun.”

He also expressed thanks for his assistant coaches.

“We meet every day,” he said. “Those aren't always Kumbaya/fun meetings, but it's a real meeting. It's real, authentic relationships, and that's what I want. And that's what I want our players to want and our coaches to want — is real authentic relationships.

“Everybody in this room who has been in a real, authentic relationship knows it's not always peaches and cream. It's not always bubbly, and it's not always difficult moments. It's ups and downs, but it's authenticity.”

Squibs

• Players of the Game from Saturday against BC were senior center Zeke Correll on offense, freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison on defense and kicker Blake Grupe on special teams.

• The ABC broadcast crew for Saturday’s game is Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe.

• When the College Football Playoff eventually goes to 12 teams, the concept of seeds 5 through 8 hosting teams 9 through 12 in the first round is quite appealing to Freeman.

"I would love to bring a team into South Bend, Ind., for a playoff game, and would be very hopeful that the weather was like last Saturday (temps in the 20s, snow globe). That's an advantage for us, I feel."

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