Quick-Hitters: Marcus Freeman On Freshmen, Defensive Line, Linebackers
Asked about defending tight end Michael Mayer in practice, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman brought up an out-of-the-box solution.
If you can't stop him, recruit him to join you.
“I tell him, ‘Come on to the dark side,'" Freeman joked during his Tuesday media session.
Yes, Mayer was a standout high school defensive end, but there are no such plans in the works.
"I don't think [offensive coordinator Tommy Rees] is going to let that happen," Freeman said.
Freeman spent the next 15 minutes discussing a variety of topics with reporters in his second fall camp press conference. Here are some highlights.
On Defending Michael Mayer
“He is a matchup nightmare. As a coordinator, you have to decide if you treat him as a tight end or treat him as a wideout. Treat him as a tight end, you try to match up linebackers, they flex him out and it’s a mismatch. Treat him as a wide receiver, you put him in the box and he’s blocking the DB. He has had a really good camp.”
On The Linebacker Competition
“It has been healthy competition. That’s what we try to promote. You have five guys who have played or can play who have all practiced really well.
“Those five guys between Drew [White], Marist [Liufau], Shayne [Simon], Bo [Bauer], JD [Bertrand], it’s a healthy competition. It’s making everybody better.”
On DE Justin Ademilola Playing Vyper
“We’re just looking to see where we can get our best guys on the field. It’s the same thing I’m doing at linebacker. You’re not just a Mike or not just a Will. We have to move you to see if somebody goes down, who’s the next best guy to put in. Not just who’s on the depth chart. The ability to move Justin from both ends – we do different things with guys. He’s a versatile guy.”
On Freshman LB Prince Kollie
“To play high-level defense, you have to play fast. When you’re a freshman, you have all these expectations and you’re thinking about, ‘What day is it, what is practice really like and what do I do?’ Early in practice, he’s hesitating. He’s a normal freshman.
“But I think the last couple practices, we’ve just talked to him like, ‘I don’t care if you make a mistake. I just want to see the Prince Kollie everybody talked about. Just go.’ He has really done a good job and grown significant amounts in the last couple practices.”
On Tariq Bracy’s Nickel Back Competition
“KJ Wallace has played some nickel. Ramon Henderson played some nickel. JoJo Johnson has played nickel. We’re rolling guys in there. [Bracy] is pretty natural at it.”
On LB Kahanu Kia Playing Vyper
“We had some questions in terms of depth at the end and vyper positions. We thought it’s best for him depth-wise as a guy who can move there and help us for fall camp, really. Then he starts playing and you think, ‘Holy cow, this might be a spot for him.’ He’s pretty natural at it. He has had a good camp as a freshman.”
On The Houston Griffith-DJ Brown Safety Battle
“We need them both. We’ll need a 1A and a 1B. That’s still an ongoing competition. I know we need both of them. And we’ll need another. We’re going to need four, maybe five safeties.”
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.