Marcus Freeman isn’t letting anything slip two days before Notre Dame football opens the College Football Playoff against Indiana.
Notre Dame’s head coach wouldn’t even give a straight answer on what colors will be featured on his team’s uniforms in the midst of internet speculation that the Irish may wear black (?) in Friday’s game.
“I obviously let our captains decide what we wear,” Freeman said Wednesday. “I am informed that we have new jerseys for the game. I was informed that weeks ago. If we made the playoffs, Under Armour was gonna give us new jerseys. But I haven’t seen them. Really just focusing on this game and preparing the right way for this task at hand.”
Notre Dame later released photos of the blue and gold uniforms on social media Wednesday night.
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So questions about 10-seed Indiana (11-1) having a bigger chip on its shoulder heading into Friday’s game or 7-seed Notre Dame (11-1) underestimating the Hoosiers certainly weren’t going to lead to bulletin-board material from Freeman.
“Listen, you’re talking about a College Football Playoff game,” Freeman said. “Every college football team that’s in the playoffs is going to have a chip on its shoulder. There ain’t going to be a lack of motivation for anybody.
“It’s still going to be about preparation and performance. That’s what matters the most. Every game we play, you have to control your emotions. It will be an emotional game. This is a big game. We all know that. It’s still ultimately gonna come down to execution, and preparation’s gonna help you execute at a high level.”
Freeman, who is wrapping up his third season leading Notre Dame’s program, has seen his team go through ups and downs every season. For the most part, Notre Dame has been very competitive in spotlight games even in losses, but the Irish have suffered some embarrassing losses to teams who shouldn’t beat Notre Dame.
Because Friday (8 p.m. EST on ABC/ESPN) will be a College Football Playoff game, there seems to be a better chance that Notre Dame is fully engaged in the game and could perform like it did in a 23-13 win at Texas A&M to start the season, a 49-14 win over Army on Nov. 23 or a 49-35 win over USC on Nov. 30. Indiana shouldn’t be trying to draw parallels to getting overlooked like Northern Illinois was in its 16-14 victory in Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 7.
“I hope as my career continues to move forward here that there is a consistency in performance,” Freeman said. “It has nothing to do with who you’re going against. Is it home or away? Is it a playoff game or not? There has to be a consistency in terms of the standard in which we play.
“As you look back at those games, our guys have prepared and performed well in those big moments at Notre Dame Stadium. You know I’m going to say this all the time. It goes back to the preparation. That’s what we gotta continue to focus on is how we prepare.
“They’re going to be ready to roll. What an honor and a great environment it’s gonna be on Friday. They’ll be ready to go, but I just want to make sure we continue to finish these last 48 hours with the right preparation.”
Riley Leonard opens up
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard shared his perspective on his experience in one season at Notre Dame with The Players’ Tribune in a column titled “A Message For My Notre Dame Family.”
In it, Leonard details how he felt his junior season at Duke was a disappointment, why he picked Notre Dame, the embarrassment of the loss to Northern Illinois and how he dug himself out of that with the help of those around him.
“I remember after the game ended,” Leonard wrote, “I went up to one of the local policemen at the stadium and was like, ‘Dude, is there any chance that you can just … drive me to my apartment?’ That’s how embarrassed I was in that moment — I didn’t want to show my face outside the building.
“He was nice enough to say yes, and when I got home I just remember my heart racing so fast. I tried to go to sleep, but there was no chance. So instead I stayed up for hours, playing the game over in my head. I was like, Please just let me go to sleep, then wake up and have this all be a nightmare. But morning came, and it was still real.”
Progress for Charles Jagusah
Charles Jagusah, Notre Dame presumed starter at left tackle heading into this season, has returned to the practice field for the Irish. The 6-foot-7, 328-pound sophomore tore the right pectoralis (pec) muscle in his chest during one of Notre Dame’s first preseason practices in August. At the time, the program announced Jagusah was expected to miss the 2024 season.
That may still be the case, but Jagusah’s inching closer to being ready for a return, and there’s no doubt he’ll be ready for spring practice next year. Notre Dame could still be playing a month from now if it makes it all the way to the national championship game on Jan. 20.
“For spring, he’ll be 100 percent,” Freeman said. “He’s still [in] returning-to-play protocol. He won’t be available to play for us this game in the offensive line role. He is getting closer and closer to being able to practice for the entirety of a practice full-go. He hasn’t practiced full-go yet.”
Jagusah worked through some drills as a backup left guard during a small practice viewing window for reporters on Monday. Freshman Anthonie Knapp has started all 12 games at left tackle since being picked to replace Jagusah.
More All-America honors for Xavier Watts
Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts is a two-time consensus All-American. But he isn’t a two-time unanimous one. Watts fell one first-team honor short of being a unanimous All-American for the 2024 season when the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) put him on its All-America second team.
Watts did receive first-team honors from the four other outlets whose All-America selections determine consensus and unanimous status. The Sporting News on Wednesday became the fourth following the Walter Camp Foundation, American Football Coaches Association and Associated Press.
Defensive tackle Rylie Mills was named a second team All-American by Sporting News. Fellow defensive tackle Howard Cross III landed on the FWAA All-America second team.
Notre Dame hasn’t had a back-to-back unanimous All-American since defensive end Ross Browner in 1976-77.
Extra points
• Notre Dame didn’t practice in Notre Dame Stadium this week, Freeman said. The Irish typically practice in the stadium on Thursday before a Saturday home game, but some logistics prevented that from happening this week.
It’s not unprecedented, however, for Notre Dame to skip a stadium practice leading up to a game. Freeman said the team didn’t practice in the stadium ahead of Notre Dame’s final home game of the regular season, a 35-14 win over Virginia, because the weather on Thursday that week didn’t match the forecast for that Saturday.
“Our guys know where to go, what to do. They know the ins and outs of every part of Notre Dame Stadium. So, they’ll be ready to go and very familiar with the environment.”
• Notre Dame running backs coach Deland McCullough won’t be the next head coach at Ohio, but he interviewed for the job, according to John Brice of FootballScoop. Ohio promoted interim coach/offensive coordinator Brian Smith to head coach on Wednesday less than two weeks after former head coach Tim Albin took the same job at Charlotte.
Freeman has no issue with his assistant coaches looking to climb the ladder as a coach, and he’s not worried that McCullough’s focus on Notre Dame’s task has lessened.
“Every person that’s a part of this football program understands that I’m the biggest supporter of elevating,” Freeman said. “If there’s an opportunity that they want and that they have an opportunity to go get, I’m the first person to help them. That’s what this thing’s about. It’s about, as you rise, you lift. You help others reach goals that they individually have while you, obviously, achieve the team goals that you want.
“I’m always supporting our coaches being able to elevate and create a great opportunity for them and their families. But our coaches and the people here understand that it takes effort. It takes preparation. It takes time to prepare for a great opportunity that we have ahead of us.
“Deland has not strayed away from that. He’s the first person to make sure that his group is prepared. I know our running backs will be ready to go.”
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