Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman met with the media Thursday after practice 1 of the spring for the Irish. Here's everything he had to say. Answers are largely verbatim. Questions may have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
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OPENING STATEMENT
“You know, it's the first day of spring practice. You don't have pads on, but I loved the clean efficiency of practice. There weren't a lot of guys on the ground. I look back to last year's first practice in spring, and we're having to teach guys, really, the standards of how to practice. This year the guys really did a great job just executing, so it was a good clean day today.
“I’ve got a couple of things, just since the last time I met with you. I’ve got injury updates. Guys that won't be practicing in the spring are Kevin Bauman, Mitchell Evans, Aiden Gobaira, Armel Mukam and Loghan Thomas. And then we've had some staff updates since we last got together. Max Bullough now is our linebackers coach. He’s doing an unbelievable job. He's earned that right to be the linebackers coach, and I really look forward to seeing what he does with this unit.
“Mike Mickens now is the defensive backs coach. He'll be responsible for the entire back end. Now, he will have help. [Special teams coordinator] Marty Biagi will take on some assistant DB duties. He'll help coach Mickens in the back end. And Chad Bowden will now be the assistant AD for player personnel. [That’s referred to as] general manager at a lot of different places. But our title, we call it here, is assistant AD for player personnel. And then Dre Brown will move up into Chad’s spot as director of recruiting. So, I just wanted to address that to start and then open up for questions.”
Q: I think a lot of people have questions about how the offensive line is going to evolve over spring practice. What are your expectations with that group? What do you need to see this spring and how open are those positions?
Marcus Freeman: “I think you have some guys that have started games. Even Charles Jagusah started a game. But you try to create as much competition as you can, especially in the spring. We know we have to solidify positions as we go into the fall, but we want it to be competitive. And I hope by the end of spring we'll be able to say, ‘OK, here's probably the guys you will see as the starting five.’ But I believe you have 6-7-8 guys that are all going to be pushing to be the top five.”
Q: And then with the two-sport guys, Jordan Faison and Drayk Bowen, how will you work practices and the Blue-Gold Game with those two around their other sports?
MF: “Yeah, we've gotten together — our sports performance staff and the sports performance staffs of the other sports, [and] they kind of formulated a plan. The demands on Jordan, for instance, for this weekend's game is going to be something where it's going to be detrimental to him to practice [football]. We'll hold him out. He is full-in lacrosse right now. And our challenge is to continuously get him better. It's not that lacrosse has to give him to us. He's all in on lacrosse. He’s going to be playing lacrosse this entire spring. So, we have to make sure we structure our practice and the things we asked Jordan to do around the demands that he has to do in lacrosse. And the same thing goes for Drayk.”
Q: So he's all in on baseball?
MF: “He's required to do less, physically than Jordan. So, you'll see Drayk, obviously having more football workouts and in practice. It’s just what your body is required to do in lacrosse versus football.”
Q: What are your early impressions on Riley Leonard? And as you guys make your decision at QB over the course of spring and probably into fall camp, how much weight will you put on what you see in reps now versus what you've seen on film over the year?
MF: “Today was the first practice. I've been impressed with Riley in terms of how he's really dove all in to learn a new playbook. And that entire room — like what I've seen is that entire room really spent a lot of time in meetings and trying to figure out the new offensive scheme. Obviously, you have an opinion based off what you've seen in the past with Steve, with Riley, with all those guys. But you still have to make it based off a subjective competition.
“ And I want to make sure that we have dialogue, opinions, but we'll also utilize the facts — the different criteria that we're going to use in terms of having a quarterback competition, very similar to what we did last year. And so, it will play itself out. And the best thing about it is we're in no rush to name a starter, and I think the competition in that room is going to make everybody better.”
Q: What did you see from some of your transfer wideouts today?
MF: “They can run. Right? I think I saw more deep balls caught in this practice than I've seen in a long time. And so, it was really good to see, and it's going to be great for both sides. The speed, the ability to throw the ball downfield is going to be obviously great for offense, but it's going to be a great challenge for our DBs. And so, I can't wait to see this competition as we go throughout the spring.”
Q: How do you make the reps work with four quarterbacks? Usually, when you have three, the third guy is just getting a couple at the end. Today we saw all four get a lot of work. How do you make that work so that it serves them but also serves the offense?
MF: “I think it just takes time to really script it out. And you don't look at who's with the 1s, 2s and 3s as much as you look for a total amount of plays and how you can make sure that each person is getting the total amount of plays that they need, so that you can make an opinion as a coach and evaluation. So, to me, what's most important is yes, you'll rotate with the 1s at certain times, but let's evaluate the plays and not exactly what group you’re in. And that's kind of how we'll go about it.”
Q: Beaux Collins and Rod Heard LL, when will they be available for you? And that process is a bit unique?
MF: “Yeah, they’re both still enrolled at their previous institutions, and so they're only allowed to observe meetings and observe practices, but they're both living here.”
Q: Now that you've had a chance to see Loren Landow go through winter conditioning and spring camp has started, what are some of the early returns there?
MF: “I am no strength-and-conditioning professional. Squat versus lunges versus leg press? But I am observing the buy-in. And that's what I've been most pleased with, the buy-in from our players to his leadership, the way he's training them. And that, to me, is impressive, to be able to gain that trust from your players in such a short period of time. And he's been a great partner in our sports performance team, in our meetings. The ability to utilize some of his ideas and previous experiences has been huge in terms of making sure we're doing what we feel is best for the player, the individual, to perform at the level that we have to perform.”
Q: What is your message to Benjamin Morrison after telling him last spring not to get complacent?
MF: “Exact same thing. The challenge I have for myself and everybody in our program is we're chasing being the best version of ourselves. That's going to make Notre Dame football better. It's that Benjamin Morrison is chasing the best version of Benjamin Morrison. And Marcus Freeman’s doing the same thing. What’s the golden standard? It’s you getting as close as you can to being the best version of yourself, which in turn will help us as we try to reach our full potential. So, it's still the same challenge.”
Q: What makes special teams coordinator Marty Biagi a fit to help in the secondary? What does that say about some of the analysts you have that they can help Marty with some of his special teams coordinator duties?
MF: “Marty has coached on the defensive side of the ball before, and this is something I've had a conversation with Marty about as he continues to grow in the coaching profession. With special teams, he's good. Now, how can he continue to challenge himself and add some defensive responsibilities? And I thought this is the perfect way to do that. We had talked before Max became the full-time linebackers coach, last year — maybe you help the linebackers a little bit more.
“But right now it's perfect for him to help with the DBs, and so credit to him. He's buying in. He is in those meetings and doing a good job. Also credit to Jesse Schmitt, who is our special teams analyst. To be able to help coach Biagi prepare for practice and those types of things is really crucial. But all hands are on deck for special teams. Like 90% of our coaches are involved making sure we are helping out with special teams.”
Q: With the way things keep changing in the portal, roster management, NIL, how important is consistency in having Chad Bowden and Dre Brown in their roles?
MF: “Consistency is so important. But it’s more even more important when it’s good. Chad’s elite at what he does. The opportunity for him to lead our entire personnel staff is something that’s earned. He’s earned that right, and he’s doing a great job. He does such a good job at what he does. That’s not just connecting with recruits, but planning, leading a group of people and evaluations. I speak about Dre in the same light. He’s done a great job in his role. It’s very important, the consistency, but more importantly that we have the right people, people that can do that role, and perform it at a high level.”
Q: What have you liked about the way Mike Denbrock has hit the ground running, getting ready the spring, and then implementing it in today's practice?
MF: “Sometimes I forget how competitive he is. And I probably said that when I first talked about him. He's a competitive dude, and I heard him out there today chirping. They threw a long ball, and he was like: ‘Get back there. Get used to it. That’s what we we do.’ OK, I like that. And he's a leader. He's a leader.
“I remember being in his first unit meeting, and he said something to the group that just stuck with me. He went through his whole résumé and where he's coached, where he's been. And LSU is a great place, and they’ve got the same goals as Notre Dame has. And he said the reason why he chose to come back to Notre Dame was the students, the athletes, and being able to coach those guys. And that meant a lot for me to hear, and I'm sure a lot for our players to hear. And so, I'm excited to have him as the leader of our offense and excited to see what’s going to happen with this offense.”
Q: I also want to ask about Devyn Ford's move to safety. What informed that decision? And what does it say about him? I'm sure there's somewhere in college football he can get carries as a running back, so for him to stay at Notre Dame and try himself somewhere else, what does that mean?
MF: “Devyn is becoming an elite special teams player. And part of the conversations we had were: ‘This is going to be your first role, your primary role being a four-phase. elite special-teamer. Tackling is something that you’ve got to continue to improve on.’ And so, he knew that the opportunities at running back weren't going to be as great as maybe trying to improve his opportunities as a special-teamer and moving to the defensive side of the ball. So, he's only been there a couple days. Obviously, this was the first practice. And so, it'll be interesting to see. He's athletic and he can run. I'm interested to see how he progresses over 15 practices.”
Q: Last year, the nickel position was pretty clear-cut, with Thomas Harper. I don't think we saw a lot of Jordan Clark today. In addition to him, who do you see as the top candidates for that position?
MF: “Jordan will be the one in spring. We held him out a little bit. He had some quad soreness. We wanted to be smart with what we asked him to do today. We always know that Clarence Lewis can play nickel, and we have that in our minds that, ‘Hey, if something happened, we can have C-Lew play nickel. Right now he's playing corner for us and doing a lot of different things for our defense. Micah Bell is a guy that's been getting some reps at nickel. And then we'll see after that. Those, to me, are the guys, off the top of my head, between Jordan Clark, C-Lew and Micah Bell. I don’t know if I’m missing anybody. Did you see anybody else out there? I think I got it right.”
Q: Tosh Baker started a couple of games at tackle a couple of years ago. Where do you see him evolving?
MF: “Tosh, as I think back to the last two years, has been that third tackle behind Joe [Alt] and Blake [Fisher]. And you're talking about two potential first-rounders. And it's difficult, but he has stayed firm and stayed true to Notre Dame. And now he's getting his opportunity. So, I'm so excited to see what he does with this opportunity where it’s: Hey, go run with it. And it's a competition, but this is your opportunity to show that you can be the starter for this offense at tackle.”
Q: When you look at the stages of the offseason and you go into the spring, are there certain things that you guys are kind of focusing on that you want to make sure coming out of spring that you are establishing this or this or this or this?
MF: “I think for all three phases, it can be a little different. Defensively, you're going into year 3 of the same system. You’ve got some new guys, but I think they're at a level that is: How do we continue to iron out the details of this defense? Offensively, you're implementing a brand new offense, a new quarterback and some new wideouts, still figuring out some offensive line play. And so, it's, to me: OK, how do we progress as we go through the spring for 15 practices but also as we get to the fall? So those, to me, are a little bit different. With special teams, there's going to be some consistency in that. And so, you know, day one, I just don't want it to be — it's really not winner.loser.
“We'll have the opportunity to have some winner/loser days, where you can truly evaluate where your team is at certain points of spring and fall camp. But again, I think we have a maturity. We have a very intelligent team, and we have an unbelievable coaching staff. And so, I look at this as a journey to Texas A&M [the season opener on Aug. 31] in that it's just a progression. I just want to consistently see this group get better and better.”
Q: Linebacker is a group with a lot of new faces. What are some of your expectations or what are you looking to see? And where are guys right now?
MF: “I remember seeing [Jaylen] Sneed in the stretch line today, and it's his third spring. And so, all right, here we go. It’s your time. Let's go. And Drayk has done a really good job in terms of when he’s been his first couple of years to now, the spring of his sophomore year.
“Jaiden Ausberry has been impressive in his winter workouts. I expect to see something big out of him this spring. Kyngstonn, every once in a while you can see a freshman and say, ‘Ok, he’s going to have a chance early.’ I can see that with him. I’m just trying to go through the room. It’s a good room. It’s a young room, probably unproven. You see that Jack Kiser has been here longer than probably anybody. Sneed’s played a little bit. His opportunity is now. Let’s see what you can do. Drayk Bowen and some of those guys — I believe in the talent in that room. It’s going to be exciting to see them go out there and play.”
Q: What’s the progression of Luke Talich and Adon Shuler at safety? Is Talich on scholarship?
MF: “He is on scholarship. Luke Talich is on scholarship. It was something we discussed when we were even recruiting him. He was a scholarship guy, had many scholarship offers. Our conversations were, ‘Hey, man, you come to Notre Dame, I can see you being a scholarship guy even after one year.’ It was actually one semester, and we put him on scholarship. He’s earned that right. He’ll be in the competition with Adon and whenever Rod [Heard II] gets here. It’s good though. Those two guys will make each other better. For them, you lose a coach with coach [Chris] O’Leary and now you have to learn a new coach. It’s the same scheme, but a different coaching style. I’ve seen them in coach [Mike] Mickens’ office a lot. I’m excited for them.”
Q: What were the nature of the injuries for Armel Mukam and Loghan Thomas?
MF: “Mukam had a labrum surgery two months ago, and Loghan Thomas had a labrum that had happened in high school. And so, he's two and a half months post-surgery.”
Q: It looked like we saw more 4-3 on defensie today. Is that a trial by error getting a look at more linebackers? And what is the makeup of the linebacker corps without Marist Liufau and JD Bertrand?
MF: “What you saw today was a result of a couple of different reasons. One, you go through installs. So practice 1, we’re installing these specific defenses. Practice 2, these specific things. So seeing three ’backers was part of the day 1 install. With Clark being out, that also takes another guy at nickel, so we put another guy in base on the field. Again, I think you could see us being a base team if we needed to. and having three linebackers on the field. We have to be multiple. And, at the end of the day, you have to put your best players on the field. If that ends up being three ’backers, it's going to be three ’backers. If that ends up being similar to what we did last year, we’ll do that.”
Q: What do you see in Jaden Mickey and Christian Gray competing to replace Cam Hart? How good can they be even as a tandem?
MF: “You saw the same competition for the bowl game. Those two guys are competing. Both of them played in the bowl game. They’ll compete now. Obviously, somebody has to become a starter, but you’re going to seem them both play. The reality of what you’re asked to do defensively, you have to be able to rotate some corners to keep fresh guys in there. They’ll make each other better. Those two guys are ultra-competitive. Their skill sets can be different at certain times, but the competitive spirit that they have — I think it’s going to be a great competition.”
Q: What is Gabriel Rubio’s status?
MF: “He’s not currently on the roster. But I expect him back in the summer.”
Q: Can you elaborate at all on what led to that?
MF: “No.”
Q: What led to Deland McCullough’s new job title? What will it entail?
MF: “Deland is a guy that even last year I had a conversation with him about associate head coach. He’s involved in some of my head coaching meetings. That’s his next step, right? Deland McCullough’s going to be a head coach somewhere. I want to help him in as many ways as I can. It’s not saying I have the answers. It’s saying come be a part of this. He can take some things off of my plate. He’s earned the right. He’s ready to be a head coach. When the opportunity comes, I think he’ll be a heck of a head coach.”
Q: How did CJ Carr look in practice today?
MF: “I didn’t really get a chance to evaluate him a whole bunch yet. We’ll go see it on film. It’s funny, because in the stretch line, I’m like, ‘Man, this isn’t really your first spring,’ because he was here for the bowl game. You can tell he has a level of comfort. He has some natural leadership ability. He has a strong arm. He’s doing a great job in terms of processing the things he’s asked to do. He’s going to have his own competition, right, between Kenny [Minchey] and CJ and Steve and Riley. Those kind of are the competitions right now. It’s unique, because there’s a — we call it a healthy competition in that room. They’re making each other better. It’s not like, ‘Hey, me vs. you. I don’t like you.’ No. It’s, ‘We are going to make each other better.’ It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.”
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