Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Pregame Quote, 12/27/2021

SCOTT LEIGHTMAN: We will turn our attention to Notre Dame and Coach [Marcus] Freeman, who bring the Irish to their sixth Fiesta Bowl, including the 1989 championship game that they won over West Virginia.

The team is 11-1 this year. First season and the first game for Coach Freeman, who served as the defensive coordinator and led the Irish to the 9th-ranked scoring defense in the country at 18 points per game.

Interesting fact about Coach Freeman is that he played in the Fiesta Bowl in 2019 with Ohio State as an undergraduate. He had eight tackles in the game. He would have played in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, ironically against Notre Dame, as a member of Ohio State but unfortunately missed the game due to injuries.

Coach, welcome. We are going to ask you to make an opening statement about your recent touchdown here in Arizona and your excitement for the 2021 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

MARCUS FREEMAN: Let’s clear one thing up, it was not 2019. It was 2009 Fiesta Bowl. I’m not that young.

SCOTT LEIGHTMAN: My bad, Coach.

MARCUS FREEMAN: Although it feels like yesterday, it was a great experience. This will be my fourth Fiesta Bowl, my first as a coach.

2006, we played Notre Dame. I was not a part of that, but I was here with the team, 2007 was a National Championship game and then 2009 in the Fiesta Bowl. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back down here in Scottsdale, Arizona.

We just touched down not maybe 30 minutes ago and what a beautiful city, what a beautiful environment. We’re an excited football team for this opportunity to play a really, really good Oklahoma State team.

SCOTT LEIGHTMAN: Thank you, Coach, and sorry about that foible. I know a lot has been made about your age recently. I didn’t mean to add on to that (laughter).

As someone with a background as a defensive coordinator, what stands out to you most about OSU’s defense this season?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Well, I was on the plane for about four hours and tried to watch as much film as I could. I’m so impressed with how hard they play from every position but especially their front four. They play extremely hard. They are relentless and they tackle and they pursue the ball well.

It’s going to be a huge challenge and the challenge is not going to be schematically, it’s going to be to match their intensity and the physicality they play with.

With your safeties and the backs this year, and Kyle [Hamilton] was sidelined, and then you had a couple of guys convert to the position, but that group came together. I guess from where you were sitting as the coordinator up until this point, how did you see that group develop?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Well, it’s been a growing experience, and it’s been really good for us as we move forward to the future in terms of, we did not have a plan to replace Kyle Hamilton. I think we wanted to do some different things schematically with those games, the USC, the North Carolina games, and for what those offenses presented.

It was something where we were able to move some guys and guys that maybe didn’t have as much experience, Ramon Henderson, and we were able to kind of get these guys some game reps. We were able to utilize Houston Griffith and utilize DJ Brown.

The biggest thing, I think, what we had to do was put these guys into position to be successful. We were not going to replace Kyle Hamilton, but we did need to replace the production. We needed to replace what that position entailed in our defense.

It’s been a great situation for Ramon to get those reps and to show that he could be a safety to help us here in the future.

When people talk about Notre Dame football, it’s a brand that sort of tells its own story. Mike [Gundy] was just talking about it on his version of the teleconference a bit ago. I’m curious, from your perspective, what you think of when someone mentions Oklahoma State football to you? Is it someone like Coach Gundy with his longevity there? Is it color scheme or uniforms? What comes to mind when you think about OSU?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I think it’s a program that every year is in contention to win the Big 12 Championship and make a playoff run. What you have seen over the past 10, 15 years throughout the time Coach Gundy has been there is a team that just, every year, is pushing to win the championship. That’s a very explosive offense and now you incorporate a defense that plays extremely hard and is one of the best in the country. This is a program that can present problems for any team.

We know the challenge. We respect this opponent, and we are going to have to prepare to make sure we are successful on Saturday.

Do you know Coach [Mike] Gundy at all, by any chance?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I don’t. This will be the first time I will get a chance to meet him. I’m looking forward to it.

I was hoping you could talk a little bit about, I saw Blake Fisher listed as a starter at right tackle for this game. Is he on any limitations, and how has his health progressed?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Well, I didn’t know going into Bowl practice he was going to be able to play. He’s gotten to the point where he’s ready to play and ready to help us.

We obviously know what type of talent Blake is. Obviously being a starter as we went to the Florida State game. With the loss of [Josh] Lugg during Bowl practice, this is something that kind of naturally happened.

We wanted to put him on the right side for a few reasons. One, Joe [Alt] has done an unbelievable job as our left tackle and has been a huge asset to our offensive line throughout the course of this year. Then the ability to kind of not have three moving pieces, right, instead of moving Blake to left tackle and Joe to right tackle; instead of just leave Joe where he’s done a great job and where he’s excelled at, move Blake right into that right tackle spot. We’re extremely excited about having both of those guys on the field.

Just a follow-up. Do you have any feel for what the shared running back steps is going to look like between [Chris] Tyree, [Logan] Diggs, and maybe [Audric] Estime as well?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Yes, it’s going to be a running back show by committee. All of them are going to have to play. They have all shown the ability to be productive, and I’m excited for those guys to get the carries, to go out there and show what they can do in a big, huge, obviously national televised game.

Can you just give us an update on the protocols that you guys have put in place to be ready for the game, first of all?

MARCUS FREEMAN: To me, we’re just continuing to follow the protocols that we’ve had. I think the biggest thing now is just the awareness. Like, hey, this thing is real and it’s realer than it’s ever been.

We have to be smart in terms of what we are doing out here in Arizona, wearing our masks when we are supposed to, and being really, really smart about the people we’re around. You cannot come down here and just go out and hang out and treat this like a normal Bowl trip. We have to be really smart. I think our team is definitely understanding the case and understanding what we have to do.

Are you doing any additional testing right now because of obviously being separated and all coming together? Obviously not knowing if there might somebody guys that might test positive.

MARCUS FREEMAN: We are going to lean on our doctors and what we have done in terms of, if you are symptomatic and you show symptoms, we will test you. If you are vaccinated, if you are not vaccinated, we will continue with our weekly testing.

You played in the Fiesta Bowl as a player when you went to Ohio State. Are you going to try to use some of that stuff that you learned in those games as a coach in this game coming up on Friday?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I haven’t thought too deeply about it, but I think there’s some ways you can spin it. There are some ways that understanding the magnitude of this Bowl game and how big this is and embracing that. I want our guys to embrace this opportunity and embrace what this Fiesta Bowl Championship will bring to the University of Notre Dame and I’m excited.

I want our guys to be excited, and I know they will be, but this is still going to come down to execution. It’s still going to come down to taking care of football and taking the ball away. It’s going to come down to being able to stop the run and run the ball, the field position. Those are the things that really are going to matter.

I want them to embrace this opportunity and understand how big this game and still to make sure they understand the keys to having success.

Can you clarify the injury to Josh Lugg? When it happened and what happened?

MARCUS FREEMAN: We were on an 11-on-11 situation, and he just planted it the wrong way. It is a minor meniscus tear but he’s had it for a while. I think when he planted, it kind of flipped the meniscus a little bit more where we said we are going to have to get this thing fixed right away.

He’s had it throughout the season. He was able to fight through it. I think just when he planted the wrong way, I think a part of that meniscus flipped up. They had to go and clean it right away.

So did this happen last week, or when did it happen?

MARCUS FREEMAN: It was our first — it was our first week of bowl practice. I would say probably maybe last Monday. Right around then. I don’t know. A lot of stuff has gone on since then, but it was in the early practices.

How are you handling this three-week whirlwind that you have been under here? And congratulations on that whirlwind.

MARCUS FREEMAN: Oh, thank you. Day by day. You know, day by day, task by task. I was telling, you know, somebody earlier today that when you think about it in terms of how many things you have to do as the Head Coach of the University of Notre Dame, sometimes it can get overwhelming. If you attack things days by day, minute by minute, task by task, you just knock it out. Don’t put things off. Whatever situation presents itself, you complete that task and then you move on to the next one.

At the same time, you have got to find a way to have this time management where you can prepare, you can prepare yourself, you can prepare your team to have success this upcoming Saturday.

I’m enjoying it. Listen, I would much rather be in this seat than not be in this seat, but I’m just taking it day by day and task by task.

You have had to play a lot of young guys this year, especially in the freshman class. Looking at the two-deep, there’s a lot of guys listed. Can you just kind of talk about the development you have seen in these bowl practices from guys like Ryan Barnes, Prince Kollie, and Will Schweitzer, all of those type of guys that have kind of been moved as different injuries and different things have happened over the last couple of months.

MARCUS FREEMAN: I think our mindset — my mindset going into this bowl, first couple of practices, maybe the first six practices, we are doing good on good. We are doing one-on-ones, ones versus ones and ones versus two. We are not worried about preparing for Oklahoma State right now in terms of the scheme. I want to make sure that we develop our guys.

At the end of those practices, we also had basics, which meant anybody that wasn’t in the two-deep were getting reps. We were going to scrimmage with the young guys. We continued that — basics is what we called it, those scrimmages throughout bowl practice, even as we started preparing more for Oklahoma State.

I think you have seen the development. I know Prince Kollie has been running with the twos, and Ryan Barnes is getting some two reps. All those guys, even with the twos or threes, they have been getting reps. We are trying to develop these guys but we’re also trying to get the ones and twos better. We got to make sure that this group is as competitive and as ready to take on this huge challenge that we have this Saturday.

There’s been great development of the young guys but also to me development of the ones and twos.

Just one follow-up on defensive play-calling, have you decided what you guys will do there? And also maybe of your defensive coaches who will be upstairs and on the field?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Yes, Nick Lezynski will come down because he’s had a more active role with the linebackers. We activated him from the senior analyst position to linebackers and special teams. So, he’ll come down.

We will still leave [Chris] O’Leary up. [Mike] Elston and [Mike] Mickens have been down and will stay down.

All year, as I lead, I have always been a leader as a teammate. It’s been a collective group effort in terms of game planning and in terms of, hey, what do you guys think on this next third down. At some point, somebody has to call it. That’s what I have done obviously being a defensive coordinator.

But right now, the plan is for Mike Elston to have a lead role, in terms who is making the majority of the calls on game day.

Now, we are going to work hand-in-hand like we have all year. We have kind of put the game-planning as a group, but he will be the one on Saturday making the majority of the calls.

I think it’s best for the group, because he’s had more time in the D staff — not just him, but Mike Mickens and Chris O’Leary, they’ve had more time to just strictly prepare for Oklahoma State’s offense.

I would be doing a disservice to our defense if I said: Nope, we are doing exactly what I say. I’m the one that’s going to call it. I’m the one that’s going to do it, because I haven’t had as much time to prepare for Oklahoma State’s offense as those guys.

I think this gives our group a better opportunity to have success. That’s why I made this decision and said, these guys have spent more time preparing for Oklahoma State than I have in terms of just our defense versus their offense.

Let’s let those guys, those individuals, and specifically Mike Elston, have the opportunity to call it. I’m going to be involved. I am going to make sure — if I want something, I’m going to say, let’s do this. If I don’t like something, I’ll interject and say: Let’s do this. But, he will be the primary play caller for this game.

Who did you rely on for organizing bowl prep, using Cincinnati’s plan last year, Jim Tressel, or just used what Notre Dame has used in the past?

MARCUS FREEMAN: All three. All three. I looked at the practice schedule we already had set. Coach [Brian] Kelly had already kind of had a practice schedule set. I looked at that. I looked at what we have done this year.

You know, the big thing I got from Coach Kelly was the use of technology, the use of GPS systems, the use of numbers. I have been using that really hand-in-hand with our head strength coach Matt Balis.

Then I used some of Cincinnati’s stuff. I looked at the two years, three years we prepared for Georgia, we prepared for Boston College, we prepared for Virginia Tech, and I kind of took some of those ideas.

Then, obviously, I leaned most, hand-in-hand or voice-to-voice, opinion-to-opinion with Coach Tress (Tressel) in terms of things — just ran things by him.

Coach [Luke] Fickell is obviously extremely busy getting ready for Alabama. Coach Kelly, I’m sure, is pretty busy down at LSU.

The guy I was leaning on the most in terms of day-to-day operations and things I hadn’t had across my desk before was Coach Tressel. I have used all three and kind of come up with what I feel is best for our team to be ready for this game.

What will be the main point of emphasis for your practice here in Arizona?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I want to go now. I told these guys we can’t have four days off. I want to get out there today and we’re going to go run around. It’s not going to be a walk-through. We are going to have a good practice today and to get some of that lactic acid out of their legs and make sure we are ready to go.

Then tomorrow is going to be a big day. Tuesday of game weeks is huge, huge in terms of the physical aspect of it but also the mental aspect of getting ready for Oklahoma State.

Wednesday will be more specific in terms of third down, in terms of red zone, in terms two-minute offense and defense.

The preparation of Tuesday’s practice and Wednesday’s practice, those won’t change. No matter where you are at, a lot of Tuesdays will be similar and a lot of Wednesdays will be similar. Today, to me, it’s a big focus. Let’s go out here for an hour, hour and a half, and have a really, really good practice is what I’m most focused right now. I’m excited to get to it.

What makes Jordan Botelho effective at the rover position, and is that a permanent move for him?

MARCUS FREEMAN: That’s a move for right now. We will kind of dive in and see if that’s the best for his future after the season.

He’s able to play out there in space, be disruptive. He’s athletic as heck where he can cover guys man-to-man. Then on the perimeter screen games and perimeter running games, he’s a disruptive factor.

We looked at more so the fact that [Isaiah] Foskey and Justin [Ademilola] have done such a good job at that vyper position and Jordan being a third vyper versus being able to rotate at the rover position, he’s going to have more impact, be on the field a little bit more with the rover position, and the impact that he can make at that position.

His future is to be determined but I know for this game, I’m excited for him to help us at the rover position.

SCOTT LEIGHTMAN: Coach, thank you for your time. Welcome to Arizona. Good luck this week in your preparation.