Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Pregame Quote, 11/04/2024

Opening statement

‚ÄúReal quick, just reflecting on Navy. I know it was two weeks ago but we haven‚Äôt met since that postgame press conference. But just looking at that game, I think the key factors were one, the ability to win the turnover margin by six. But as you saw, to be able to produce 28 points because of those turnovers was huge. There was another game, I forget, that a team won the game but lost the turnover margin by six that same week. The Duke game. And our players were like, ‚ÄòCoach, turnover margin‚Äôs important. They lost the turnover margin by six and still won the game.‚Äô But as you look, if you can‚Äôt turn those turnovers into points, convert to points, it really won‚Äôt have a huge determination on the outcome of the game. So, that was huge. To get 28 points out of those six turnovers was big.

‚ÄúThe ability to outrush Navy, win the explosive play battle and then we won the battle of field position by 20 yards, which is the most we‚Äôve done all year. So, those were all key factors into the outcome of that game. We were able to put that game to rest last week and really focus on improving, preparing and recovering during this bye week. And I thought our guys and our coaching staff did a really good job at doing that.  

‚ÄúThe players of the game for Navy were, on offense, Jeremiyah Love, for defense, Jaylen Sneed, and special teams was James Rendell. And then the scout players of the week, on offense were Jake Tafelski with a special shoutout to Tyler Buchner and the job he did. Defensively was Jerry Rullo and special teams was Tommy Powlus.  

‚ÄúA couple injury updates; Tae Johnson will be available this week, moving forward. He started practicing last week and should be available this week. Mitch Jeter‚Äôs still questionable. Really has improved in terms of his recovery or his rehab from the injury a couple weeks ago. But he‚Äôs still questionable. Loghan Thomas will be questionable with a right hamstring from the Navy game.  

‚ÄúMoving forward to Florida State. Listen, it‚Äôs a very talented football team and it doesn‚Äôt take long to turn on the film and realize how talented they are. They might be one of the most talented teams we face all year and that‚Äôs just what the film tells you. And the record doesn‚Äôt reflect their talent. They‚Äôve had to deal with some injuries, especially at QB, that has affected the outcome of their games. Our team must and we will respect the challenge that Saturday night here in Notre Dame Stadium versus Florida State will present. We have to continue to respect that by the way we prepare. This is a crucial week of preparation.  

On Notre Dame striking the balance between the right number of transfers and players signed out of high school

‚ÄúI‚Äôve said this, I think, from the beginning and I‚Äôll continue to say it ‚Äî the foundation of our program has to be built through high school recruiting. Again, one of the greatest strengths we have is the love for this place, the love for this university, the love for each other. And it‚Äôs hard to gain that instantly; maybe if you‚Äôre only here for a year. But that‚Äôs my philosophy moving forward. Now we‚Äôll utilize the transfer portal for very specific reasons, specific positions that we need to enhance immediately. But again, I want to continue to create the foundation of our program through high school recruiting.‚Äù

On if Jordan Botelho will return to Notre Dame in 2025

‚ÄúYeah, he‚Äôs planning on coming back next year.‚Äù

On message to the team this week with a 1-8 FSU team as the opponent

I even heard it last week on the road recruiting ‚Äî ‚ÄúOh, you guys got Florida State. They‚Äôre struggling.‚Äô And yes, their record might not be where they want it to be but I‚Äôm not trying to make this team something they‚Äôre not. They‚Äôre a talented, talented football team and that‚Äôs gonna be my message to the team is that we respect our opponent. You don‚Äôt have to watch many plays to realize how talented they are. But we‚Äôve got to continue to do the things in preparation to make sure we give our program the best chance to have success on Saturday.

‚ÄúAnd that‚Äôs what we‚Äôve got to remember. It‚Äôs a mental preparation and a physical preparation and we know what the result is when you don‚Äôt mentally prepare the right way. We know it. That‚Äôs why I always say keep the pain of NIU because that‚Äôs a result of not having the right mindset. How you handle success. And it‚Äôs important that our guys understand that. You‚Äôre going to be presented every day with two options, right? Choose easy, choose hard. My message will continue to be we have only one option. It‚Äôs choose hard and that‚Äôs what we have to do to continue to elevate as a program.  

On CFP rankings coming out Tuesday and if Notre Dame players will look at them

‚ÄúYeah, they‚Äôre gonna look and somebody will tell me what we‚Äôre ranked. I‚Äôll continue to remind them that it‚Äôs great but that has no impact on our future. We‚Äôve got to make sure right now we take care of what‚Äôs important.  Because if we think that the rankings of tomorrow are gonna be what the rankings are at the end of the season, then we‚Äôre crazy. We‚Äôve got to take care of what we have right in front of us and that‚Äôs this opportunity to prepare for Florida State.‚Äù

On if the Notre Dame offensive line will be the same for Florida State as it was for Navy

‚ÄúYeah, it‚Äôll be the same for Florida State as it was for Navy. That‚Äôs what our depth chart says right now. Every week the roles can change at any position, including offensive line. Now, I‚Äôm not saying every week we‚Äôre going to change offensive line or we‚Äôre going to change who‚Äôs starting. But that‚Äôs the mindset that we all have to have. Every week your role can change based on how you prepare but based on what this team needs you to do to have success on Saturday.

‚ÄúAnd that‚Äôs what‚Äôs important for everybody in our program to understand is that we‚Äôre not changing who‚Äôs starting just to change. If we believe this is what it takes to have success against this opponent, then we have to be willing as a coaching staff to change who‚Äôs starting and who‚Äôs playing and all those different things. But no, we‚Äôre not changing our offensive line for this game.‚Äù  

On Jason Onye’s status on the depth chart and if he will play again for Notre Dame this season

‚ÄúHe‚Äôs not on it right now. He‚Äôs taking some personal time right now to get some things that he needs. So, if there‚Äôs a chance for him to return we would love to have him back. But right now we‚Äôve just got to support Jason, get him the help he needs for Jason.‚Äù

On ‘re-recruiting’ players to remain on the Notre Dame roster from season to season

‚ÄúI don‚Äôt love the term ‚Äòre-recruit‚Äô because when you think about recruiting, you think about trying to build a relationship with a high school‚Äîwith somebody‚Äîto get them to choose your program. That‚Äôs what recruiting is, you build relationships, we try to show you what‚Äôs great about this place, that you should choose this place. I hope we never lose this relationship that we‚Äôve built. 

“What we have to continue to do is just continue to double down on those relationships and that trust that the player has with his coach. Part of that is intentional conversations. We have a relationship, so we’re going to have intentional conversations about what you have to do to reach your full potential. Your future is uncertain. I don’t know if you reach your full potential, if that means you’re going to start, if you’re going to play, if it means you’re going to be a backup. The future is uncertain. All you can control is you ability to reach your full potential. And that’s the conversation we have to have. It’s, ‘hey, here’s where you’re at right now. Here’s where we as a coaching staff believe your full potential can be.’ And you have to embrace that too.

“No matter if your ceiling is really high or if your ceiling is not as high. Sometimes if you don’t recognize where your ceiling is at, you tend to blame somebody else on the outcome. It’s important to continue to have conversations. We have relationships, I don’t want to re-recruit you. I just want to have intentional conversations with you and tell you, ‘I don’t know what this means for you next year.’ Even if you’re a starter, if you’re a backup, if you’re not playing. I can’t guarantee that if you reach your full potential, this is what it will be. I don’t know the outcome of it, but I can tell you about the ways you can improve to truly reach your full potential.”

On managing redshirts at this stage of the season

“We’ve had those conversations about guys that have played three or four games. ‘Do we want to burn his redshirt?’ Here’s guys that haven’t played that we can utilize maybe in a special teams role, or offensive or defensive role. There are some freshmen who we said, ‘hey, put him as a backup on special teams right now in case a starter goes down. Maybe we can get him in the game because it won’t burn his redshirt.’

“All freshmen are available in that realm if they haven’t played, especially in home games where you’re not worried about travel rosters. We have to make sure we can utilize some of those guys.”

On Notre Dame’s offensive identity at this stage of the season

‚ÄúI still think our ability to run the ball is something that we have to be able to do. We‚Äôve done a really good job of doing that which creates some ability to throw the ball downfield. And that‚Äôs what we have to continue to do. We have to run the ball no matter who happens to be running the ball. And take some shots downfield when teams are going to have extra hats in the box. 

‚ÄúWe‚Äôve worked on that. We‚Äôve worked the fundamentals of every position on our team. We have to enhance and improve. But I still want to be an offense that runs the football, makes explosive plays downfield, take advantage of those explosive plays. We‚Äôve done that and we have to continue to get better.‚Äù

On facing Florida State as the Notre Dame defensive coordinator in 2021

“I think about 2019 when I was the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and I faced Mike Norvell twice as the head coach at Memphis. I have a lot of respect for him as an offensive mind since those two games—we played them back-to-back. He’s an innovative mind.

“And as I got here in 2021, again, he has a unique ability to every week do something to try to put your defense in conflict. I talked with Coach [Al] Golden this morning about it—it’s even hard to say ‘This is what they do’ because every week he’s trying—you can see he’s trying to do whatever he can to help his offense have success. And he’s not just gonna say ‘this is what we do.’

‚ÄúThey‚Äôre gonna do the different formation, different concepts. And so I‚Äôm not a lot of respect for him. I know that‚Äôs a roundabout answer to your question, but I continue to just stay a moment. I know it‚Äôs a cliche answer but I‚Äôve always believed you take care of what you‚Äôre doing right now, and work as hard as you can in the future will take care of itself. 

“For me, I’m fortunately blessed to be the head coach of Notre Dame, but I just continue to stay in the moment and do what it takes to be the best head coach and best leader for this program I can.”

On preparing for FSU as a 1-8 team opposed to being 8-1 like many thought would be the case

“For them, I’m sure it’s pretty tough being the head coach and knowing you have all that talent but the outcome hasn’t been what you want it to be. You just put your head down and find ways to help your team improve.

“For us, this is one of 12 guaranteed opportunities. You’re playing Florida State, at home, in a night game. What a great opportunity. You have to respect that opportunity by the way you prepare. That’s what I’m going to continue to preach. That our preparation, physically and mentally, has to be better than what it was in the past. Because if we do the same thing, the natural gravitational pull is going to make you worse.

‚ÄúI told the guys last week, if we think we can do the same thing this bye week that we did last bye week and we‚Äôre going to get better, that‚Äôs not how God created this earth. There‚Äôs a natural gravitational pull. If you do the same thing you‚Äôre going to get worse. We have to elevate. We have to elevate how our preparation is this week. We pushed them hard. There has to be another step for this program.‚Äù

On what it said for Jaylen Sneed to play as well as he did vs. Navy

‚ÄúIt‚Äôs a great example of, last week was probably his best week of preparation. He had an exceptional week of preparation. Is it because he‚Äôs played against Navy before? Did he have clarity in what he was asked to do? But he had an excellent week of preparation and it reflected in the way he played in the game. 

‚ÄúBut I think I‚Äôm going to go back to what I originally said earlier about every week your role can change, right? That‚Äôs what I respect about Jaylen but everybody on our team. You still got to put team glory in front of yourself. Jaylen Sneed put himself in a position to have some individual glory. Played really well. But it was because we had team glory, right? If we didn‚Äôt have team glory, nobody would be asking me about a whole bunch of individuals from that game in a positive way. 

‚ÄúJust continue to dive into team glory and what it takes. Your role might change each week and in a snap of a finger you can get individual glory like Jaylen Sneed did.‚Äù 

On where Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard is right now

‚ÄúI just think it‚Äôs the confidence. Starting with the confidence. He has confidence in what he‚Äôs being asked to do. He‚Äôs making fast decisions. They‚Äôre not always perfect. But he‚Äôs making fast decisions and confident decisions. We all know he has the ability to tuck the ball and run and create a first down out of nothing. But he‚Äôs really doing a great job of building that relationship with Denbrock so they know exactly what each other are thinking. How comfortable each one feels with each call. Then the confidence he has in those guys around him has been tremendous. It‚Äôs just continuously building on week by week what he‚Äôs done. 

‚ÄúI think for him, he‚Äôs settling in. You‚Äôre the quarterback at Notre Dame. In the first two weeks, he saw the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. He was able to say, ‚ÄòOK. I get it.‚Äô And now put your head down and go to work and do the things it takes to make yourself as the quarterback of this place the best quarterback you can be. He‚Äôs continuously doing that and doing a heck of a job at it.‚Äù 

On the Notre Dame defense generating pressures with so many injuries up front

‚ÄúIt starts with those two big guys in the middle. Rylie and Howard, they create some disruptions for the offensive line where maybe other people get the credit for the pressure but I think what you‚Äôve seen is, you‚Äôve seen the production really spread out amongst other people. You‚Äôre not going to replace Boubacar or Jordan Botelho with one person. But we‚Äôre able to keep fresh guys in there. They‚Äôre relentlessly attacking the quarterback and the guys inside are really giving those guys a chance to make some plays. It‚Äôs a collective group effort, but we won‚Äôt be successful unless those two big guys inside are playing at a high level. You go back to their stats. Their stats don‚Äôt reflect the value they have for our defense. Those two guys, Howard and Rylie, are true difference makers in the run and pass game. Stats don‚Äôt always tell that story, but we know. And people that really evaluate the game truly understand the difference they make.‚Äù 

On the injury status of Notre Dame freshman QB CJ Carr

‚ÄúNo, he doesn‚Äôt have to get surgery. He‚Äôs still returning to be able to throw. We‚Äôll probably see a progression from him to be able to throw here soon. We‚Äôve been overly cautious on his return to play. We don‚Äôt need to rush it. Let‚Äôs make sure he is 110% healed. If he was the starting quarterback this year, you probably would have pushed him a little bit more aggressively. But we want to be smart with making sure he is 110% healed, really rehabbing his elbow to a point where he‚Äôs better than where he was previously.‚Äù 

On coaching through an election year

‚ÄúWe talked to our guys about registering to vote in the summer. It took a lot of work. Are you going to register in Indiana? Are you going to register back home in your home state? We were very proactive in doing that for those guys who wanted to do that in the summer. Some could do absentee ballots. They all have the ability to go vote on Tuesday if they want to. That‚Äôs about it.‚Äù 

On freshman Tae Johnson being a factor at boundary corner in his return to play

‚ÄúIt‚Äôs a credit to his skill set. He can play multiple positions. Shoot, Tae Johnson could play receiver if he needed him to. He‚Äôs a great athlete. We‚Äôre just looking at the depth of our corners with some injuries. What we needed for this defense right now at this time, that‚Äôs the role we needed him to be in.‚Äù 

On what wide receiver Jordan Faison means to Notre Dame

“The biggest thing with him is what he puts on film in practice and in the game is a guy that does exactly what he’s asked to do and really performs at a high level. The way you run routes, just because you don’t make the catch or get the ball doesn’t mean you weren’t doing 100% what we’re asking you to do. The way he blocked. Now that he’s returning to pretty much full health, we were able to get him the ball last week and create some big plays with him. He is a game changer. He is a great football player. He is tough. Practices at such a high level. Studies the game. He’s a huge part of this offense now and will continue to be a huge part of our team moving forward. He’s a valuable member to this program.”