Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman met with the media on Monday at Notre Dame Stadium ahead of a Saturday home matchup between 17th-ranked Irish (2-1) and 0-2 Miami (Ohio). Here's everything he had to say. Answers are largely verbatim. Questions may have been edited for brevity and clarity.
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Opening statement
Marcus Freeman: “Overall, just very pleased with the performance and preparation by our football program. A lot of guys were able to play and performed at a high level, which speaks to the depth of our football team. Was very pleased with both sides of the ball, how we were able to keep up the level of play in the second half after getting that halftime lead. We won the turnover margin, rushing battle, third-down battle, explosive-play battle and time of possession. As I said last week, if you win those key areas, you’re going to win a football game.
“The players of the game were Jeremiyah Love (offense), Jordan Botelho (defense) and Max Hurleman (special teams). The scout players of the week were Charlie Selna (offense), the entire defensive line (Sean Sevillano Jr., Devan Houstan, Grant Ristoff, Brenan Vernon and Kobi Onyiuke), and Henry Garrity (special teams).
“As always, when you watch film on Sundays, there’s areas for improvement. We have to continue to attack those areas and enhance in the areas that we performed well as we turn our focus to Miami (Ohio), who we know is a good football team. I think in both of their losses this year, they were one-score games going into half. We have a lot of respect for Chuck Martin and the job he’s done in 11 years there. Obviously, he’s familiar with this place. They were ’23 MAC champs. We understand the challenge we have ahead of us. We have to get to work and prepare for this upcoming opponent.
“Couple of injury updates: Jordan Botelho will be out for the season with a knee injury. Ashton Craig will be out for the season with a knee injury. Billy Schrauth will be out for a few weeks with an ankle injury. Jordan Faison should be full-go, and Josh Burnham is still questionable depending on how he progresses this week.
Q: How did you come to your decisions regarding the offensive line? You had two veterans who could have started but you went with Sam Pendleton. Was that a tandem decision between Pendleton having the highest upside and getting Coogan backup reps at center in case something happened to Ashton Craig?
Marcus Freeman: “It was to evaluate fall camp and you grade every practice. And we felt like Sam [Pendleton] gave us the best chance to get the job done on the offensive line. We have a lot of confidence in Pat [Coogan] and Rocco [Spinder]. Then made the decision, after we decided Sam would be the starter, to make Pat the backup center but also get some reps at guard. When Ashton went down, Pat was the first one [in]. He’s our backup center.”
Q: How is Coogan playing at center? Could that ultimately be his best position?
MF: “He’s been doing really well and played well in his 20-something plays on Saturday. I hope it is his best position.”
Q: Is it the best fit for his skill set?
MF: “It could be. We believe he could be a center or guard. Obviously, you have to snap at center and make some IDs, but I hope this is the best position for him, and he plays his best ball moving forward.”
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Q: You talked about playing to Riley Leonard’s strengths on offense this past week. How much of what we saw is this is the offense versus this is a piece building to something still?
MF: “That was the offense we felt gave us the best to succeed versus Purdue and that fit his skillset and what we thought he did best. This week we have to continue to do that in terms of what we feel will give the best chance for our offense to succeed, including Riley, versus this defense. It’s a different defense than what we saw last week. Every week, as you go into preparation, you have to take into consideration what your guys can do well but also what’s going to help you have success vs. the defense you’re going against.”
Q: How do you coax more passing yards out of Leonard?
MF: “If we need to throw it to have success, I’m sure we’ll game-plan in a way that we’ll have to throw it. But it’s about what’s going to have success against the defense you’re going against. Riley did a great job running and making the throws. He was 11-of-16 in the first half and did a really good job of executing what we asked him to do. We’re not looking for stats. We’re not looking for how much we throw and how much we run it. We’re looking for success against the opponent.”
Q: With Joshua Burnham listed as questionable and Jordan Botelho out, are there some younger players or others who could might be able to help you at vyper or defensive end?
MF: “Bryce Young played really well. He’s a guy that’s different, man. He’s going to continue to get more playing time. He’s a really good player. He’s young, but he’s got a lot of talent. Junior Tuihalamaka, you’ll see more of him. You’ll see Loghan Thomas, who did a good job in his reps that he got on Saturday. That’s why I said that in the opening statement. It was really good to see some 2’s and 3’s get valuable, meaningful reps versus an opponent, a Big Ten opponent. They played well, played to the standard, which to me speaks to their preparation. You never know going into a game if you’re going to be called upon or not, but you gotta be ready. Those guys on scout team on both sides of the ball that played on Saturday executed their job. Credit to our players, and our coaches, that weren’t that starters for being prepared.”
Q: Did any of those players, like Kennedy Urlacher, change your opinion of them to where you need rethink their role?
MF: “Yeah, I think a lot of guys earned some trust from the coaches on Saturday. I said Bryce Young. Leonard Moore continues to improve. He had a strong fall camp. You have so much confidence in Benjamin Morrison and Christian Gray and Jaden Mickey. It’s like where can we find a way to get Leonard Moore on the field more? Because he is a talented guy. Same thing with Kennedy Urlacher. He played really well. But then you say, OK, you’ve got Adon [Shuler] out there, you’ve got X (Xavier Watts), you’ve got Rod Heard. It’s where can we find a place for those guys? But they’re earning it. They’re good football players that we’re going to need to be ready to help us.”
Q: What kind of player is Kennedy Urlacher? What are his strengths?
MF: “Man, he’s a ballhawk. He finds a way to find the ball, close space. He’s a really good tackler. I challenged our [coaches], even on special teams, can we get him out there more? I’m going to continue to challenge Kennedy to make sure you’re a great practice player too. Those are things that are hard as a freshman to learn how to practice at that standard and then perform at the standard he’s performing at. He is a really good player and made some critical plays for us on Saturday and we’ll continue to find ways to get him on the field.”
Q: What one thing do you hope your team will take with them from Saturday’s win at Purdue?
MF: “Just the preparation, the mindset. It can’t take a loss to have the mentality that we have to have mentally and physically to prepare the right way for an opponent. We have to be able to move past the previous game and really start the preparation the right way, starting today, as we meet with them this afternoon. As I said last week, we can be a really good football team. We’ve got work to do. Let’s evaluate the film the right way, let’s come up with a plan to attack and fix the issues that we have and continue to prepare and respect your opponent. And know at any point, you could beat any team you play and you could lose to any team you play. That’s the beauty of college football. We gotta prepare and understand that as we prepare.”
Q: What does scoring 66 points against Purdue do for the offense’s confidence?
MF: “I think it goes a long way. It validates [not only] the work they put in, but the talent that they have. So, it's still a young group in terms of being together. We have some older guys that are playing, that've played a lot of ball, but part of this is the experience together. And I think they did a really good job of making sure everybody's on the same page, preparing the right way and going to play in the right way. So, I think it's done a lot for the confidence. We've got to continue to replicate that preparation that we had last week and go out and perform that same way.”
Q: What can you say about the backup offensive linemen stepping forward in the Purdue game?
MF: “[It's] a credit to the depth, the job that [O-line] coach [Joe] Rudolph has done with that offensive line. To have Pat Coogan go in there and Rocco Spindler. I said this after the game, but two guys that could easily ... didn't get what they wanted after fall camp. They wanted to be the starters. They weren't, and they prepared.
“They were great teammates and leaders for that room, and now they're in there. We have a lot of confidence in those guys, but also some of the other guys. I thought Sullivan Absher played well. Guerby Lambert played well. Chris Terek played well. So, you hate to lose Ashton for the year and Billy for a couple of weeks, but, man, I have a lot of confidence in the depth of our offensive line.”
Q: How big of a loss is losing Jordan Botelho for the season?
MF: “Huge impact. Jordan Botelho is a great player that was playing his best ball since I've been here. You feel awful for the kid. Feel awful for him, but you have to continue to move forward. And that's why you have depth, and you have guys that are prepared and ready to step up and get the job done.”
Q: What is the challenge of handling success better heading into Week 4 against Miami (Ohio) than earlier this season?
MF: “The preparation, the mindset, the mentality.”
Q: Could you evaluate Steve Angeli’s performance on Saturday, getting almost a full half of playing time?
MF: “Oh, man, he played really well, which I knew he would. We have a lot of confidence in Steve Angeli. He made good decisions, took care of the ball. I know he wishes that he wouldn't have taken those sacks, but, man, I was really pleased and proud of the way Steve played.”
Q: Are there similarities between Northern Illinois and Miami?
MF: “[It's a] good football team that could come in here and beat us if we don't prepare the right way. So, that's the similarities I see between those two teams, is both of them are good football teams and we have to respect them in terms of the way we prepare. Schematically, they're different, but [Miami is] a well-coached team. They do a good job of limiting your possessions on offense. Both played really good defensively, and we have to really prepare our best to perform the way we want to, to have a victory on Saturday.”
Q: On how the offense responded to going three-and-out a couple of times in the first half on Saturday?
MF: “That's a challenge that we have to get better at. You score the first drive, three-and-out, second drive. Score the third drive, [then] three-and-out the fourth drive. You're not going to score every drive, but we have to be able to move the chains and look at the reasons why we went three-and-out and what happened on those series.
“That's what I've always said: You evaluate each play, but we can't, as an entirety, go three-and-out on offense. We know that, but I'm really proud of the way they responded [in] the fifth series, where we went down to score. The sixth series, we went down and scored. And so, it was a good response, but we’ve got to evaluate every play but those two series and say, 'OK, what mistakes did we make on these series that we can't have a three-and-out?’”
Q: Do you need to stick with the run game, with home run hitters like Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price?
MF: “Yeah, I think you still have to be committed to running the ball, and that's what our identity is. We want to be able to run the ball, and you have to be patient. But you also, as what happened two weeks ago, you can't go three-and-out and three-and-out and then just say, 'OK, let's keep running the ball.' You’ve got to move the chains and [you’ve] got to change the field position. So, we've got a couple guys that can run the ball and take it all the way. We know that, and so we’ve got to continue to play to our strengths.”
Q: What can you say about Kevin Bauman catching his first touchdown pass of his career, and do you know how close he might have come to just calling it quits after all the injuries?
MF: “Man, that was a struggle for him, going through two [torn] ACLs. I don't know, personally, if he had that thought of maybe hanging it up. I think a lot of people would, but to come back for a senior year and be a great teammate and do everything in his power to help this team achieve team glory. You can't have enough people like Kevin Bauman and Pat Coogan and those guys.
“Man, I love those guys, but it's great to see him get a reward, to see him out there, to see him catch a touchdown and to see the way his teammates celebrate. That tells you a lot about Kevin. Every person on that sideline was excited for him, and I'm happy he was able to achieve that.”
Q: What’s it like having so many players with NFL dads on the roster and do they contact you or leave you alone?
MF: “Yeah, every once in a while I might hear from them, but you probably have a different relationship with the fathers that have played in the NFL, that have played the game, because they get it. They probably see it from a lens of team glory that's important to us, and not individual glory. It's not: ‘What is my son doing? How can he be better? Why isn't he playing more?’ They text you after the good ones and they text you after the bad ones. Your phone's kind of quiet a lot of times after the bad ones, but some of those guys in the NFL, they get it. They understand. So, it's really cool. It speaks to the way we've recruited. It speaks to this university and the value some of those NFL players see in Notre Dame in terms of the football program, but also the education. And so, it's a great testament to this place.”
Q: What are you trying to emphasize to James Rendell in his punting?
MF: “I've spent some time with Coach [Marty] Biagi just talking about... James is a guy that has so much talent. He can do so many things with the football, and we really have to evaluate what we're asking him to do. It's the same thing we talk about on offense and defense. As coaches, we know the talent he has. We haven't put it all together in the games. Let's evaluate what we're asking him to do. I know he can punt across the field. I know he can do spiral punts. I know he can do end-over-end punts. But what we gotta do is call the things that he can do in the game. That's on us as coaches. We gotta put him in a better position and ask him to do the things that he does well, get experience and then we can have him do all these different types of punts.
“We've got to get him better in practice. We've got to maybe be strategic in how we ask him to punt in practice. Usually, in practice you do punt period, and that's about all you get. But we're going to probably scatter some punts throughout practice to say, OK, treat this like a game. You might be sitting on the sidelines for 20 minutes. Come back in. Now, you gotta execute.
“We as coaches are looking at ourselves and saying, OK, how can we help this guy with so much talent have success on Saturdays? I hope that some of the changes we're going to make in terms of what we ask him to do and how we practice will help him on Saturday.”
Q: Is his style of punting because of his background better served in being directional?
“He can do it all. That's the problem is that he can do directional, he can bang one straight down, but we can't ask him to do all that until he can do it in the game. That's what we gotta do. You're talking about the challenge of a coach is that we have individuals — and I’m using James as an example of that — that can do a lot in practice. They can do a lot, but in the game, it's different. And so, let's tone it down and say, OK, let's call things that this guy can do well in the game, not just in practice, but we believe that, hey, we got evidence he can do this well in the game. Then as he gets more confidence in doing that, now we can add all these extra types of punts. But that's the challenge of a coach is that you can't fall in love with just what they do well in practice, you've got to really fall in love with the things that you know they can do in the game.”
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