Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman met with the media on Saturday following the Blue's 28-21 win over the Gold in the 93rd rendition of the Blue-Gold Game, at Notre Dame Stadium. Here's everything he had to say. Questions may have been edited for brevity and clarity.
OPENING STATEMENT
“Good day. Great way to finish the spring. Practice 15. To be in the stadium and to be able to compete against each other. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to finish this spring practice period off the way we did. Even this day — this day was pretty special. Obviously, we had the ground-breaking for our brand new football facility, which is just amazing for the future of this football program and Notre Dame student-athletes and what that’s going to provide. So, thank you to our leadership and our administration for really being in the forefront, and the people behind this movement to create this new football facility.
“There was a lot of good, a lot of bad from the game. As I told the players, ‘Let's utilize the teaching opportunities that the game like this provides but also continue to use these first 15 practices as a barometer to continue to move forward.’ I don't want to start back over. I want to use what we've developed over these 15 practices and continue to use it as a springboard as we move into the last couple of weeks of the semester and then give them a little break and then bring them back for the summer. But really, really pleased with where the progression of this group is going. So, with that, I'll open up for questions.”
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Q: The quarterbacks all had pretty good numbers across the board. How did you see it, and are you more comfortable today about your quarterback room now than you might have been in early March, before these practices started?
Marchs Freeman: “Yeah. I was really pleased with what I saw. A lot of good, but you never want to turn the ball over, which we did. But I love the decision-making, just from being back there and watching them. Again, they’ve been progressing all spring. It's good to have Kenny [MInchey] and CJ [Carr] be live today. And I think it's good for the defensive guys to realize that just because you get close to the quarterback, you realize it's a lot harder to actually get a sack.
“Those guys love to yell ‘sack’ when they get close to the quarterback, but today it shows that you’ve actually got to bring the quarterback down. And it's not as easy as sometimes it may seem. But I was really pleased overall in the entire spring of what all three of those guys have done with the groups they've been in there with and the production that they’ve really provided this offense.”
Q: What did you make of the pass rush today?
MF: “Again, when you start splitting the units — the offensive line units, and even the defensive line, into different teams — those guys are not used to working with each other, especially the O-line. There's five guys that are used to working with each other, and now they're on separate teams, but it's a testament to our D-line. The D-line has done a good job to get pressure, to actually get the quarterback down.
“I think they had probably had two or three on Steve [Angeli], who was in red, but again you’ve got to be back there to be able to get a sack. So, we'll just credit our D-line and, again, it's a little bit of a reflection of our offensive line being split up.”
Q: In what ways are you more comfortable with young linebackers, like Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, with Drayk Bowen, with Jaiden Ausberry from when spring started? Was there anything they showed today that really caught your attention?
MF: “I don't know if it was anything today as much it was the progression of the spring. Like, Kyngstonn is going to be a really good football player for Notre Dame football. And we thought that when he came in. I mean, you thought that in high school when you were recruiting him. And then he came in and he validated that through 15 practices, that he's going to be a really good football player and do some great things for us right away.
“Drayk has really done a good job in filling the void for JD [Bertrand] and that leadership that we lost and production. And [Jaylen] Sneed and Jaiden Ausberry are two super-athletic players. For Jaylen, being in his third year, [he’s] really starting to come into his own. You know, understanding what he's doing. So, he's playing faster, but he brings just a really unique skill set.
“And Ausberry, to be able to say, ‘OK, he's helping us at linebacker, but we’ve got to find ways to not take him off the field.’ So, we moved him to nickel halfway through spring. And so, that's a reflection of his athleticism, his versatility, so it's a great room. Really confident in where we're at now. And, again, the only guy you plan on losing is [Jack] Kiser.”
Q: Big picture with the new facility, what kind of boost do you hope that gives you in recruiting? And then from just a practical standpoint, when it comes online, what can that building allow the program to do better than what you're doing right now? Or maybe do things differently than what you're doing right now?
MF: “If you've ever lost a recruit because of a facility, then that probably isn't a loss. And so, I want to make sure that I answer that first, that our facility has never been a recruiting disadvantage for us. But what [the new one] does is it shows the recruits that you have and your current players the vision you have for the future. We've outgrown ours. That's the No. 1 reason we had to create and build a new building. Just the numbers in college football have just grown in terms of the staffs, the players — it's just grown.
“So, that was the biggest thing. We have to create a bigger building, and then with that, we're getting state-of-the-art everything. State of the art, just in terms of how can we truly provide our players with every possible opportunity for development? What ways can we help develop them? And that can be with nutrition. That can be in recovery and treatment. Your classroom, how we’re teaching in a classroom setting. And I think it's really important, as we build a new building, it's about giving the current players and the future players every possibility to really develop and reach their full potential. And that's the vision behind it.”
Q: A lot of new faces in the running back position group. What did you see from that position specifically today?
MF: “Aneyas played well. He played really well. And it was good to see him in some live [situations]. We didn’t have a whole bunch of live periods throughout spring. And so, for Aneyas to go out there and make some big plays — I think I said this on the live broadcast — what prevents running backs from playing at a young age is protection. It’s pass protection, not being able to run with the football. That's why we recruited them. We know they can run with the football. But being able to trust them in pass protection, he's grown tremendously there. And he's the one that stuck out to me more than anything.
“Justin Fisher had a good day today. Being a local guy, I'm sure a lot of people here were watching. It was really good to see. I know Gi’Bran [Payne] kind of got tweaked a little bit, his ankle toward the second half. And we move a guy like Devyn Ford, who's been playing nickel and defensive back all spring to running back because of Gi’Bran going down. I think Fisher got banged up a little bit. And [Ford] goes in, and he does a great job.
“And it's like, those are the guys, to me, that you need in your program — versatile guys that have so much value. He's going to help us on special teams. He's unselfish and has gone to defense for the spring. And now to come back in the spring game and play offense, Devyn Ford is going to help this football team.”
Q: Kris Mitchell had a big catch today. What is it like having a deep threat like him?
MF: “It's big. It’s why we went and got him from the portal. We knew he could help this team and we've seen it on film. And he's had a really good spring. There's been days we've kept him out for precautionary reasons, but it's good when we go live and let him go and throw the ball deep to him, he makes some big plays. And he's going to help us. That's why he's here, to really boost this wide receiver room. And it's good to see him score a touchdown.”
Q: Is Jadarian Price significantly injured? And how is Eli Raridon doing after playing today but being held back some this spring?
MF: “Jadarian, we had a kick scrimmage on Tuesday or Wednesday, and on the very last rep came up with a pulled hamstring. It wasn’t crazy. It’s one that would keep him out a week. But it just came at the wrong time right before the spring game. Because we wanted to see him out there. Shame on me. I don’t know. I wanted to get one extra rep in the kick scrimmage, and it ended up costing us a hamstring. I take the blame on that one. But he’s fine. He had a great spring. He’s done some really good things.
“As far as Eli, he didn’t start the spring full go. It was a progression for him to get back. I know it’s not a meaningful game, like winner or loser, but it is a meaningful practice. To be able to have Eli out there — if you’re healthy, let’s get you some live reps and be able to evaluate you and make you better. That was why we had Eli out there. He’s done a really good job since the time he’s gotten back from being on the sideline to what he did today.”
Q: You lost your starting punter to the portal this week. Do you have an answer on the current roster or will you go to the portal to fill that void?
MF: “We will bring somebody in. We’re looking to, at some point, bring somebody to be a punter to add to that room.”
Q: What injuries are Cam Williams and Styles Prescod dealing with?
MF: “Cam was a hamstring. Listen, this is one of the healthiest springs, but we did have two hamstrings this week that just came at the wrong time. It’s things you learn as a head coach. It’s a reflection of somebody goes down and we have a thin wide receivers room. With Jordan [Faison] not being here, [Deion] Colzie was out for a while with a finger and JT [Jayden Thomas] a couple weeks ago. When you start adding those reps to Cam Williams, then all of a sudden he pulls his hamstring in one of the practices. But he was very similar to JD [Price]. It was a very mild tear, but he wouldn’t be able to go full go today. So that’s why he wasn’t out there.
“Styles Prescod, he’s just a guy that we’re really working on muscle deficiency in one of his legs that was previously worked on in high school. He hasn’t been totally full go all spring. So it’s just something we’re trying to make sure we build this right leg up — I can’t remember which leg; one of his legs — to make sure it’s equal with the other so we can truly be safe.”
Q: We saw Micah Gilbert make some plays again today. What have you seen from his development this spring? Why has he been able to handle everything so far?
MF: “I wasn’t surprised one bit. From summer camp he’s been a guy that has made plays. This is when we evaluated him last year. And since the start of spring, Micah Gilbert’s a really good football player. He’s added a great skill set to that room at a young age. He’s a hard worker. He doesn’t talk a lot. He just goes out to work. I saw his parents last night at the parent dinner and said he’s a pleasure to coach. He’s one of those guys that you just love being around, because he’s a yes sir, no sir guy, and he just works. What you’re seeing is a reflection of that work he’s putting in.”
Q: You said you want this to be a barometer to move forward. Because it is year three, how much better positioned do you feel the program is to propel forward and sustain and grow?
MF: “Obviously, through experience hopefully I’m a better head coach today than I was the first two times I was up here. But every year you look at: what do you need talent-wise to really mold it together to make a run? I believe this probably is, I want to say, one of the most talented rosters we’ve had since I’ve been here. Now it’s our job to build that talent and mold that talent and make sure we teach that talent to get to where we want to go. We have a new offensive coordinator, a couple new coaches. We have to continue to grow as coaches to develop that talent that we have.
“I’m excited. I’m excited for this group. I’m excited for the build that we’re creating right now. We’re building towards that first game we have in College Station. I love where we’re at. We have to really make some strides from now until summer. And then when they get back for summer, those six-eight weeks, we gotta make sure they’re really efficient. What have we learned from the spring?
“Me and coach [Loren] Landow have met. What have we learned from the spring that we can really create in our summer conditioning? One of the things: I went up to him today during the game and said, this is why we should never do a drill on a line. Because we had how many, three or four, defensive offsides, because we’re not checking with the ref to make sure we’re aligned right. Those are things that me and coach Landow are growing together. How can we train this area in the summer when you’re training them in conditioning? We’re learning. But I really love where this group has progressed to.”
Q: Where do you feel you’ve grown the most as a head coach across these three springs? Where has this roster grown the most?
MF: “I’m really pleased with where we’ve added to this roster in terms of our wideout room. I’m confident in the guys we have returning in this wideout room, but also confident in the guys that we’ve brought in to really elevate the room as a whole.
“As far as me, God, I wish I could just pinpoint one thing. There’s a lot of things, a tremendous amount of things, you learn. And I don’t ever think you stop. I don’t know. I haven’t stopped in the three years I’ve been a head coach, and there’s no plan to. The one thing that sticks out is you have to, at times, pull back. The first year being a head coach, every day was the Super Bowl. Every day, you’re like we had to win or lose like this was the Super Bowl.
“It’s not saying that every day’s not important. Every day is important. But what you’re trying to get out of each day can change. You have to look at this as a progression to making sure that you’re ready to go when it matters the most. That’s the thing I can point to that I’ve learned more than anything is being able to pull back and look and say, OK, how does this day matter in terms of the progression to where we want to go? It’s a different perspective than I previously had.”
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