Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman spoke to reporters in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday morning for his final press conference before Friday's Sun Bowl against No. 19 Oregon State (8-4).
Here is everything Freeman said ahead of No. 16 Notre Dame (9-3) meeting the Beavers in a game that will be televised on CBS at 2 p.m. EST.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity. Questions may be paraphrased.
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Opening statement:
Freeman: “It’s great to be here. It’s been a great week. Thank you to everybody on the Sun Bowl committee. The hospitality they provided our program, our players, our families. This has been a great week of experiencing not just the Sun Bowl but the city of El Paso. We couldn’t be more grateful to be here.
“Our guys are excited. We’ve had a great week of practice since we’ve gotten down here. With the competitive spirit that they have, they understand the great opportunity we have in front of us. We’re looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.
“It’s been great in my short time spending with [Oregon State interim head] coach [Kefense] Hynson. It’s not surprising to me why you’ve earned this opportunity. You can tell by the way his players will rally around him. You’re a leader. Much congratulations to you.”
What has been one of your favorite things you’ve experienced in El Paso this week?
Freeman: "Last night was pretty unique. I’ve never been to a hypnotist. It’s unique. I kind of woke up in the middle of the night Googling, ‘Is this real or not?’ It’s unique. That was the first time I’ve ever been to one of those shows. The night before, we went downtown and really got to experience El Paso. I could go on and on. This has been a great four days.”
What does the Sun Bowl mean to your program?
Freeman: "I think it’s the second-longest bowl game. I remember growing up as a kid and hearing about the Sun Bowl. I know this is a lot of our first times being down here, but the tradition, the respect of this game, is something you’re humbled to be a part of. Again, yes, there is an opponent and that competitive spirit when two games come together and play each other, but there is another piece of being here in El Paso as part of this Sun Bowl that excites our entire program.”
What are your expectations, points of emphasis and marching orders for quarterback Steve Angeli?
Freeman: "Do the things that have put yourself in this position. To me, he’s earned the right in practice to be Sam Hartman’s backup, and in the opportunities he’s played in games, he’s done really well. You have to be Steve Angeli. Don’t be Sam Hartman. Don’t be anybody else. Be Steve Angeli. Take care of the football. That’s always a big thing for me. Take care of the football. One play, one life. You guys have heard me say that plenty of times before.”
How much tailoring of the offense needed to be done in adjusting it to Angeli’s style of play?
Freeman: “Not much. We have two new tackles, but the wideouts all have experience. As you look at our two backs who are going to be playing, that’s probably where you start looking where light tailoring has happened. I don’t think what Steve and Sam do really well is really going to change what we do offensively.”
What has been the message to Notre Dame’s young players who are stepping into bigger roles?
“Grasp this opportunity. There are guys that this is going to be their first time starting for Notre Dame. There are also guys that this is their last time playing for Notre Dame. I think every single person that’s going to have an opportunity has a different opportunity in front of them, but grasp yours.
“If you’re a first-time starter like Charles Jagusah, our left tackle, go show you can be the future left tackle of this program. That’s why you’re going to go out there. We have a strong belief in him. But also, you think about JD Bertrand, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, DJ Brown, Milk [Michael] Vinson. I can go on and on about the guys that have chosen to make this their last game. They didn’t have to play in this game. They’ve chosen to make this their last game. They have an opportunity right in front of them that I want them to grasp too.”
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How important will be the return of Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills to the defense?
Freeman: “Huge. We always say you want to be good up the middle. This can be in baseball, it can be in football, it can be on defense. When you talk about those two guys who have started going on three years now for our defense, they’re the foundation of what we do. To have those guys back for this game and for the future, I think we’ll have great benefits for our program.”
What have you seen from the experienced receivers returning from injuries: Jaden Greathouse, Matt Salerno and Jayden Thomas?
Freeman: “All those wideouts that you just mentioned have all had game experience. They’ve all either played a whole bunch or started. To have JT back and healthy is really encouraging. He really hasn’t been healthy all year. I expect him to do some great things. JG, Jaden Greathouse, had a great bowl prep. Jordan Faison has done really, really well with his expanded role and for what we’re going to ask him to do. Getting [Deion] Colzie back and Salerno, a guy who has played in really big games — he always had it in his mindset when he got injured that I want to be back for the bowl game. Obviously, he made it back for the Stanford game. It’s going to be great for Steve to have veteran guys who have been out there, that know what it’s like in a big-game situation.”
Is there a specific way to approach facing Oregon State QB Ben Gulbranson, who has experience, but may have a little rust?
Freeman: “You watch film. You prepare. You have, I think, 9-8 games of film from when he did start. The thing I respect about him is he’s a winner. There’s no substitution for that. He’s shown to be a winner. He has that competitive spirit that we all desire to make sure our program has.
“We’re going to do what we do well. This isn’t about tricking your opponent. It’s about having a great game plan and giving your guys a chance to play fast, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
What have you seen from your new captains during bowl prep?
Freeman: ”Milk, DJ and Javontae — those three new captains — the thing I saw from them is gratitude. For me as the head coach, it was more, ‘Hey whose three guys that this is their last game that have given this program everything they have?’ That’s why I made that decision. But to see the gratitude they have to be named a captain for Notre Dame’s football program was humbling as the head coach. They’re going to be themselves. We don’t ask them to do anything other than be themselves. They have a lot of pride in being named captains for this game.”
What was it like telling them they were captains for the Sun Bowl?
Freeman: “I tried not to make it a big deal. It was just one-on-one conversations. I talked with JD Bertrand first, because he’s a captain. I said, ‘This is what I’m thinking, and what are your thoughts?’ He was 100% supportive. I talked to the coaching staff. Then I met with them one-on-one. I didn’t want to make it a big deal, but after I saw the emotions some of them had and the gratitude they had, I said, ‘I’m going to announce it to the team and make it a big deal.’ The team was receptive. They’ve earned it. They’ve earned that right to be named captain.”
How does Jeremiyah Love’s skill set make the offense different than Audric Estimé’s?
Freeman: “The different things you can do with Jeremiyah varies from what you’re going to ask Audric to do. We’re going to ask Jeremiyah to do some things that we asked Audric to do, but also some things we didn’t ask Audric to do. You can use him in different positions, obviously try to get him to the perimeter. His speed is elite. How can we find different ways to get him in space and get him the ball and say go make a play? Those, to me, are the ways you kind of expand the offense with Jeremiyah Love.”
What has it been like seeing wide receivers coach Mike Brown during bowl prep?
Freeman: “He hasn’t tip-toed into this thing. The first day we announced he was hired, he went and grabbed them. He dove right into that group, which is important, because trust is earned. He dove right in to earn the trust of those guys. A big part of that is being on the field with them, coaching them. Not trying to see what — just coaching them from the minute they stepped on the field. That’s what you respect.
“He wasn’t worried about anybody's feelings. He wants to make this group better. I’ve seen a belief. It’s not, have they gotten better? It’s been 7-8 practices. It’s the belief they have in a coach that trusts that relationship that I think is so important. I’ve seen it develop right away.”
How pleased were you with how quickly you were about to hire Mike Denbrock as offensive coordinator, what led you to that decision and how are you integrating with the team?
Freeman: “I’m really pleased with how quickly it worked out. Honestly, I want to give credit to our administration and [athletic director] Jack [Swarbrick] and the commitment they’ve made to make sure we can hire the best possible candidates to come into this program. Me and Mike go back —four years together at Cincinnati. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, the great offensive coordinator that he is. To get him here and a part of our program is exciting.
“He was here yesterday. Flew in yesterday and spent some time with the coaching staff, met with the players and flew out today. To have him back in South Bend as our offensive coordinator leading our offense is exciting for the future of our offense.”
What do you remember about preparing against Mike Denbrock in practice at Cincinnati?
Freeman: “Competitive battles. You talk about in the spring and fall camp, it’s offense vs. defense, there’s a couple glances across the field that you can non-verbally get a message across to somebody. I know we had a couple of those. But go into the locker room, he’s a team guy. That’s what I respect about Mike Denbrock. He is a competitive person. He finds a way to get his best players involved in what it’s going to take to have success. It wasn’t, hey, here’s my system, let’s recruit to it. It’s, OK, who are the best players and how do we get them the ball? How do we find ways to do things that fit their skill set?”
What about Mike Denbrock’s desire to be at Notre Dame?
Freeman: “He loves this place. He loves it. You hear the way Mike, his wife, Dianne, and his son, Chance, I don’t know how much Chance remembers about South Bend, but you hear the way they talk about the community, the people. And then you hear the way people talk about them. I told him, ‘You’ve had a huge impact in your time at Notre Dame, because of the way people talk about you when you were there.’ He can’t wait to get moved back to South Bend and get his family here too.”
Is there a chemistry carry over from the backups stepping up?
Freeman: “Yeah, there’s chemistry in terms of knowing each other, but there’s different guys working with each other. And it’s a lot different when you’re with the ones than with the twos or maybe on scout team. Some guys were on scout team. You still have to build that chemistry. In order to build chemistry, it’s what you’re going to ask them to do. That’s how you see teams with chemistry, it’s because they don’t make mistakes. In order to do that, you have to make sure you have a game plan that dictates that you can execute it.”
How important was it to get your guy so quickly with Denbrock given last offseason’s offensive coordinator search?
Freeman: “It’s important just to get leadership for our offense. Anytime you lose leadership, there’s uncertainty about the vision for the future. It was so important to get that position filled with the No. 1 guy that I wanted. The minute it came open, because I said this at the press conference, it’s a unique situation when your offensive coordinator is a tight ends coach. That’s why as I looked for a No. 1, an offensive coordinator that was a tight ends coach, Mike Denbrock came to the top. It doesn’t hurt that it was the No. 1 offense in the country either. He was my top choice. To get him here is tremendous.”
What did you think about his meeting with the team yesterday?
Freeman: "It was great. It was short. Him and Loren [Landow], our new strength coach, both said a couple things to the team. My biggest thing is I want you to see. I don’t want you to read on the internet. I want you guys to be able to meet the people that our going to be leading certain things in our program.”
How did you find out that he hasn’t signed his contract extension yet?
Freeman: “I didn’t know.”
What were the dynamics of it?
Freeman: “It was call Mike Denbrock.”
You just called him directly?
Freeman: “’Hey, man, I want to get you here.’ Obviously, we had further dialogue after that.”
Did you talk to him last year for the job?
Freeman: “No. I’ve talked to Denbrock. We have a relationship. But, no, I did not talk to him about the job last year.”
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