Marcus Freeman’s passion for football and for his job comes through even clearer in person than it does via Zoom.
Freeman held his first in-person press conference as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator Tuesday, at the end of the Irish's fourth fall camp practice. Here are some highlights from his 15-minute session with about 10 Notre Dame beat reporters.
On The Defensive Identity
“They’re going to be able to accomplish what I really want to do. They are. It’s a little bit of what we did at Cincinnati, but there are things I didn’t do at Cincinnati that I got with the coaches and we put this thing together. I’m excited to continue to grow it and see how it all works out. I have a good idea. It’s not like we’re out here playing 30 coverages. We have an idea of what we’ll become.”
On Defensive End Jordan Botelho’s Status
“Right now, my plan is he’s here and is going to be here unless someone tells me otherwise. He’s very important. We’re operating as if he’s here.”
On Fifth-Year Senior Linebacker Drew White
“The biggest thing with Drew is continue to be a leader. It’s not anything physical. I’ve challenged him a little. I know he came off the field a little bit on third down – same thing with Hinish — but we’re going to put the best guys on the field on third down. You should take it as a challenge to make sure you’re on the field. But leadership is most important. Not just a leader by actions, but the things you say. I want to make sure his leadership will raise his game a little more.”
On His Influences
“[Cincinnati head coach] Luke Fickell, the first person to hire me as a coordinator. He was the sounding board, somebody who said, ‘What do you think here? What’s an idea you have here?’ That kind of influenced me more than anything else because of those four years being a coordinator there.
"The best thing about it was we struggled in 2017. That was probably the best thing for both of us. We did a lot of the things we did when he was at Ohio State, and it just didn’t fit us at Cincinnati. I think we finished 94th in the country in scoring defense. It made us go back and look at what’s important. We made some changes and had some success.
"That was an influence on me, the ability to say, ‘You have to adapt and change to different offenses if you want to have success.’ Offenses are always adapting. [Notre Dame offensive coordinator] Tommy [Rees] has been adapting. His offense in the spring is different than what I’m seeing in the fall.”
On Senior Rover Paul Moala
“I’ve watched some old film where he did play. What speaks volumes about Paul Moala and Jacob Lacey is they did play meaningful football for Notre Dame. That tells me how much those coaches trusted them. It has been good to see those guys out there, and Kyle [Hamilton], who was injured in the spring.
"Paul, he’s a little different than a freshman, because for you to be on the field in meaningful games for Notre Dame football, you have to be a good player.”
On Sophomore DE Alex Ehrensberger And The Defensive Line
“He’s a high-effort guy. An energy provider. He just goes hard and is a ‘Yes sir, no sir’ kid. Sometimes he can be methodical, because he’s such a pleaser. But he has done a great job. He has gotten a lot more reps. [Defensive line coach] Mike Elston has done a great job with him.
“I think our D-line room is extremely deep. In my years of being a coordinator, the most success I’ve had is when I’ve had a good D-line. The depth of our D-line is like no other. It’s a credit to Elston’s recruiting and his development.
“The D-line room might be the only one where we have to talk about three-man rotations, because there’s so many good players in that room. That’s going to be a challenge to Elston — try to get the guys on the field, but also make sure the level of play doesn’t drop. That’s a fun challenge, but it’s a challenge for him, and I’m going to lean on him heavily.”
On Building Relationships With The Freshmen Class
“When you go from being one of the top players in the country and then come to Notre Dame with all these expectations, there are great football players here. Our job as coaches is to make sure we have a good grasp on those guys in the room, that they’re continually understanding it’s a process to get where you want to be.
"That’s my big focus with our position coaches. We have to know what our young guys are thinking right now, every day. The minute you start thinking, ‘They’re fine, they’re just young,’ that transfer portal looks more attractive to those young guys.
“This is an important time, when you start having ones, twos and threes, guys aren’t getting as many reps and we have to have a great relationship with those young guys.”
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