Texas A&M | Marcus Freeman Weekly Press Conference (8.26.24) | Notre Dame Football

statement we will begin the Q&A session please raise your hand so we can get you a microphone as a reminder after your first question you'll have one follow-up question coach Freeman all right um it's here right finally game week uh I just remind our players like you work about 300 days a year for for 12 guaranteed opportunities and we've uh finally gotten to game week and so it's exciting um we got we got to have a great week of practice um we can't get to the game before here like this week of preparation is going to be so crucial um to to dictate our performance on Saturday um you know this has been the healthiest fall Camp um really since I've been the head coach but but as we've really taken data uh probably from the last 12 to 15 years um we've had the uh fewest injuries in in I think 15 years um we practiced 15% more uh this ball Camp than than we had previously um we only had one concussion uh and we're we're down 30% overall in in concussion strains and sprains and so um just wanted to say I'd like to to give credit to our Sports Performance team and um in the way they've supported our players outside of practice and and to our coaches that have bought into um the adjustments we've had to make going into each practice the way we've structured practice um the results have shown that it's it's been really good we practiced more and had less injuries and and that's a great um statistic uh we put out our depth chart today um which I'm sure I I'll have questions about here soon but uh I reminded our team last week that in my two years here uh out of 52 possible starting lineups with O and d uh we've had 39 different starters different starting lineups and um I think that's about 82 different starters and it's just just a reminder that you know there's one guarantee that the the future is uncertain so everybody on this trip has to uh be ready um for any role and uh and that you know we're going to need everybody everybody that makes a trip down there um as we go throughout the season we're going to need them all and so um you know I just as I told them like the first depth chart doesn't dictate uh the value of this team of of you on thisam team but also what the future will hold uh I know you guys saw we announced our captains last week uh Jack Kaiser Riley Leonard Riley Mills Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts um those five were chosen based off team voting and um I couldn't agree more with with the team um in those five captains but we had 16 players get more than one vote and uh you know if you get one vote it's I often say it might just be you and uh but to have more than one vote um it shows the the the leadership we have on on this football team uh you know on to the task at hand um uh Texas A&M very talented team as you watch uh last year's the the guys that returned from last year's team um they're a very talented group uh I have a lot of respect for Mike Elco and the job he's done uh at Duke and and and previously as a defensive coordinator at different places um and the way he's developed his football team so um we know it's going to be a challenge uh we're looking forward to it um it'll be a great environment and uh we're looking for the opportunity to face in another top 20 program and uh uh Saturday night down in College Station so with that I'll open up for questions all right coach first one to your far right second row Tom Noy Marcus when you get to Saturday what is it about this team that you know of that they can cut through all the Clutter and the noise and everything that you're going to have on Saturday night and and and answer and and and be there at the moment that you need them to be well I think you're confident um that you have a team uh that can do that we've trained that uh We've trained um really being able to execute your assignment in Crazy um conditions with with crowd noise and and you know trying to do surprise situations in practice uh but at the end of the of the day they got to do it when it matters right and and you can do it in practice um that builds confidence within yourself and with your coaching staff and um but you got to do it when it matters versus an opponent and we won't know that answer until we get to Saturday head coach always wants more practice periods more days to prepare but when does a head coach know that his team is ready to go play is it something you can sense is it something you see or hear in the moments leading up to a game you know I think we're always optimistic right you you never I I've never gone into a game saying we're not ready you know but you don't know truly until you face an opponent and a good opponent at that um but I'm confident that this team is ready and will be ready uh when we go and and face Texas A&M on Saturday all right to your far left second row Tyler James Marcus pretty soon after Charles J say injury we talked to Joe Rudolph and he was pretty firm in supporting Tosh Baker as the potential starting left tackle can you walk us through how Anthony knp was able to win out that job and what you guys saw in him you know I think you make decisions um in the moment based off previous experiences and then that's the B the beautiful part of practice like there's competition and I tell those guys every day you should be trying to take somebody's job right and and every day if you're a starter you should know guys behind you are trying to take your job and and we've had 10 practices since then that that um basically kind of got us to this conclusion that um Anthony KN will be our starting left tackle but uh he he's worked tiously uh he's done a really good job of building trust um with his coaching staff and and uh and that's why we made that decision and then Sam Pendleton was working at backup center to start camp and ends up winning out the left guard job over guys that were starters last year uh what was he able to do and and why did he stand out as that that best option yeah I would say the same thing with nap right is is just it's consistency in doing the job you're expected to do over and over and over and that's why you make decisions right it's not a one- day thing um and it's not a last year thing it's okay who do we believe has consistently shown in practice um to get the job done over and over and over and and and that's why we made those decisions you know we have a lot of of of confidence in in the to deep of our offensive line right there's guys with experience that are in the two deep um but at the end of the day you have to make a decision on who you want that first group to be and and Anthony and and Sam are two guys we felt uh will give us the best chance to have success okay middle row on your right Alison Hayes um the atmosphere at Kyle Field it's huge uh what are you guys doing to prepare for the sound the the atmosphere there yeah we we uh we' piped In Crowd noise we've been intentional about certain periods of you know it's so loud you can't even use your your coacht player uh microphone uh speaker um you know and and again we'll we we'll show them um examples of of what it's like uh to to play there right in in videos and in different ways because you want them to to be prepared you want them to know what to expect and um that's going to give them the best opportunity to uh have an idea of what it's going to be like on Saturday night and so we've been intentional about doing that we don't do it every period um but there's period and practice we're very intentional about piping In Crowd noise piping in some of the music that they play um their fight songs some of the chance and and just showing our guys hey this is what to expect on Saturday and just kind of piggybacking off of Tyler but just um with the inexperience that you have then at o line how do you feel that matches up with Texas A&M's experienc defens line yeah it's going to be a great challenge their defensive line is going to present a great challenge no matter if you're experienced or not and um that's that's what you'll see on film over and over they got a really good defensive line um but the guys that that are going to play they go against our defensive line every day and uh we feel very confident in the defensive line we have and so they've uh shown to to have success against really good defensive lineman and and we feel those guys will give us the best chance chance and that's why we made that decision okay left side front row Jack so Marcus obviously played against a Mike ELO coach defense last year and a Mike El coach coach team like the players are different this time but what what challenges does he present on on that side of the ball I think their their defenses is have been shown to be very sound um uh first and second down they're really sound in what they do uh they play hard they tackle well um and then third down you can see some exotic things and uh that's something that you over the test of time you've seen in in Mike Elco defenses and so um our job is to try to as best as I can as best as we can not to put ourselves in third and long situations where they can become super exotic but we got to be able to handle the things they do um you're not going to be able to trick them they they're sound and uh they play hard and so um we got to be able to match up and and and be aggressive in what we do right and and have confidence in what we're doing offensively um that we can move the ball against any defense and then with the three ores at at wide receiver what gives you confidence that those six guys have have have earned those spots and and can make plays against this team yeah all six guys man have played uh you know with the ones in in Fall camp and that's why we decideed to have ORS like those six guys I don't care who goes out with the first group um they're all six guys are going to play um and all six guys have the ability to make plays down the field um to do exactly what we asked them to do in our run run in passing game uh and we have a lot of confidence in all six of them all right back to the right third row Tim prer another offens of line question but I think maybe a little bit different from from what we've asked you so far in the preseason and we've asked you about everybody but probably your two best lineman in Ashton Craig and Billy sh What specifically like from a technique standpoint what do they do so well and then secondly because of the things that have happened on the left side we haven't asked much about Emil Wagner has he settled in to his starting spot yeah he's done a really good job Mill's done a great job um from the start of Camp till now has been really consistent uh you know him and Billy have a a good camaraderie on that right side you know I think the things that Billy and and Ashton do really well is they're powerful people um the the things you ask your Center to do are different than the guard um in terms of some of the recognitions and calls and checks he has to make um Ashton is extremely intelligent um and he he's really good with some of his uh his calls stuff like that he's been consistent with his snaps but the power those two are powerful individuals and you know they like to create a new line of scrimmage on the other side of the ball um and that's something that that is is going to be necessary to have success um in a run and a pass game um you get three green dots on the defensive side of the ball is that correct with uh you can have yeah you can have as many as you want only one on the field at a time okay yeah yeah like who are I obviously I would think that Jack Kaiser is a guy with a Green Dot but who else would you turn to uh when he's not in the game our linebacker so you know yeah so Drake will have a a helmet on the sideline um Kingston K uh I think all of our linebackers will have the chance if necessary to put on a Green Dot but Kaiser will have the the Green Dot to start okay middle row on your left is Sean Stars Marcus there's always I guess U an element of surprise in the opener you know in terms of what you prepare for and that kind of thing this is also the second year in a row you're facing a team that's got a a new head coach so how much does that kind of add to that complexity I guess yeah it the openers no matter if the coach is returning or not coordinators are returning or not like you don't truly know what to expect you prep you have a an idea of what to prepare for but openers are are huge in terms of adjustments and we have to be able to adjust um on the sideline to what we're seeing on both sides of the ball special teams and so that's something that we've talked about in depth as a coaching staff is that this game is going to be about adjustments and and how do we settle down based off what we're seeing from um our opponent to say okay here's the things we want to do on each side of the ball and uh we understand that it's been like that for the first couple years right as a head coach that you have to be able to make an adjustments especially that first game it's also the third straight year you've opened away from home is there any I guess you know over the course of this season is there is there any kind of value that comes with that um yeah I mean I think you know through fall Camp you you you continue to preach that at the end of the day it's still 120 by 53 and the thir right and that's the the things that matter like um you prepare them for the elements the things that are outside of the the football field but at the end of the day it's about the execution um between the 120 and 53 and the third lines and so um you know I think our guys are excited you know sometimes it's it's good to go on the road we love playing at home um but obviously sometimes it's good to go on the road us against everybody and uh um it's it's going to be exciting we're looking forward to it all right down in front on your right John Bryce Marcus um whether it's when you arrived here in 21 as defensive coordinator or took over in 22 as head coach where do you believe that that this roster top to bottom has made the greatest strides um I think the depth right we we've continued to improve the depth of of all positions you know and and it's not very often you can replace Joe all the left tackle and then you lose the starting left tackle and still feel very confident about the the left tackle that's going into the game um and we do and so I think our coaching staff has done a great job our recruiting staff uh at developing depth at all positions um each year it's different it's different like that's the the great challenge of a of a coach is that you don't start over you don't just reload it's you you have to start over with this new group of talent right and build it the right way um and and have a process that you believe is going to have an output that you want um on these 12 guaranteed opportunities so I I'm really pleased with the depth um of this football team and and how our coaches and staff has recruited um yeah do you think that that elevated quality depth is also perhaps a reason for for fewer injuries in preseason in Camp and did you go into Camp thinking you would have 15% more practices or was that a byproduct of the health um no it it was intentional it was intentional to um you know make sure we we we don't cut back on practice and and part of that was through you know me kind of going and visiting some other teams and programs and NFL teams and you you can't cheat practice right you can't the you have to practice and you got to you know get the Reps that you believe you you need to to have a team prepared so it was intentional to make sure that we practic more but the the changes came in how we structured practice right how we structured it um the flows of practice uh but another key element was the health and so what what happens is sometimes like in the spring we had somebody go down and all a sudden now it's added loads to everybody else but to be able to keep the majority of your team healthy helped with continue to be able to have two spot uh team periods and and and really getting all those periods accomplished all right to your left front row Tyler hin a couple weeks ago Al golden told us that this team has more leaders than it does captains and you just alluded to all the guys who got at least one Captain vote so I'm curious what can you point to that kind of tells you yeah we have a lot of guys beyond the guys who are wearing the sea that can do the same types of things that those guys do yeah I think this might come out on the uh the uh the follow doc one of these episodes coming up but it was interesting um how the voting played out where you had those five guys that got the majority of the votes that were named captains but right below them you had six offensive guys um that get double digit votes right from like 25 to Upper teens and what I told the offense I said man this is exactly how you want it to be you got your quarterback that's the captain and then you got some real leaders right on that offensive side of the ball and defensively you got four captains right so shows about their leadership but I love that like let the quarterback get the shine that's good you're the captain but we got real leadership like that's not just two votes I'm talking about High Teens to 20s and so that spoke volumes to me of the way our team viewed the leadership in our our offensive room speaking about that quarterback last year I think it was it must have been the Ohio State game we talked about how Sam Hartman felt like he had been in enough situations to feel comfortable what have you seen from Riley Leonard and going back to his time at Duke and just who he is to say okay yeah he can go in there and play in front of 100,000 and be just fine yeah he's played in in obviously big game uh environments throughout his career um you know he he's done a really good job throughout his career of of doing his job and and I have a lot of confidence in him um just from what he's done but also the trust that he's earned here right we try to create high pressure situations in practice you have to you can't bring in 100,000 fans for practice um although you guys might like that but um you do what you try to do is is create high pressure situations and see how your team performs and and Riley's perform really well in those situations okay far right front row Eric Hansen hey coach I got kind of a odd combination question in the beginning it's going to depend on how you answer the first part chance Tucker you had mentioned and I'm guessing that wasn't a short-term injury in light of that how your safeties shook out how that rotation shook out and do you have to cross Trin anybody to help your corner back yeah chance will be out for the year um he tore his ACL uh you know and and but I feel good about although you know love chance man he's a great teammate he's a great uh person um you know you feel you feel terrible for him that he loses the this season but um as far as the DBS again it goes back to the recruiting question like we've developed we got we got a lot of depth there and um I'm very confident in the depth of both the safety and the Corner's room Rod her is a guy that can play multiple positions um he's can play corner he can play safety can play nickels so he gives you um added depth to both rooms uh but I really like it man I I I like the depth I think Adon Schuler has done a great job at proving that he can be trusted and counted on he is uh he's going to be a really good player for us and then we got some good young guys like Leonard Moore um and and Carson Hobs and some of those guys that are are all going to be able to help us this year I appreciate how you navigated that that was a very confusing question anyways uh the second part my other question has to do with all of a sudden this oppressive humidity is here in South Ben for the few days are you too close to the game to really take advantage of that and acclimate your team or is this like yeah this is what we need appreciate the good Lord Almighty bringing the heat here you know what else would you want being here at Notre Dame and the the the our mother on top of the golden dome bring a little heat on Monday Tuesday and probably into Wednesday but um no it's not too late uh we've been preparing for the heat but now it's not just preparing like you'll feel it right you'll fill it out at practice and um it's probably going to be warmer tomorrow during practice and it probably will be for the game and so it's a great reminder for our players like now you're doing you have your routines for hydration and refueling but now you have to do it with the heat it's not just hey remind you to to drink fluids and to you know have carbs during these breaks that we have it's like the heat will force you to do that too and so um it's going to be good to be out there we'll go out there today we'll go out there tomorrow um and get a little bit of it on Wednesday too um but it's going to be good for our team to really just feel uh the Heat and and double down on that routine we talked about to to help them perform at a high level all right to your left far uh peper hey coach um when you think about the fact that you got a high profile opener a quality opponent a rockus atmosphere just how big of a tone Setter do you feel like this is for your season and a a potentially good jumping off point if it goes well yeah you know I thought about that it's it's again it's a great opportunity to face a great opponent um to see how good your program is week one um but no matter what the outcome of this game is it doesn't dictate what the season's going to be right and and you know I'm sure a guy like Mike Norvell is having that same conversation you know they they come in with high expectations and they lose the first one but guess what man you got a whole bunch of of of football ahead of you and you can still achieve all your goals and so we are going to do everything in our power to make sure we're ready to win this game that's what you do right you get 12 guaranteed opportunities and I don't care who the opponent is but you have success like you got to get refocused for the next week you you you don't have success you got to get refocused for the next week because um this is just game one and and uh we need to understand that when you think about the the noise in that stadium and and the different ways you guys have tried to prepare forward are there things on the field you can do in terms of play calling or things that you'll try to do to take the crowd out of the game when you can I mean and will that be important for you guys yeah I don't think there's anything intentional that we're going to try to do to take the crowd out um you know that will be determined probably based off our execution you know and and I think for us it's the preparation for a loud crowd that's more important than anything we didn't do a great job last year of of of playing clean and at Duke right we we had too many pre-nap penalties and so we've been very intentional on preparing in loud envir in a loud environment in practice so we eliminate the pre- snap penalties right we can't let the crowd um affect our operation and so uh I feel very confident we have a great plan plan for the the crowd Noise Okay down the middle on your right Sim M coach just two personel questions I think from the outside we've all seen sophomore Christian Gray really ascend from Spring to now just in your opinion what what has Christian Gray done to to claim a job that was obviously heavily contested in the spring where are his greatest efforts since Freshman season you know I think one of the greatest things for Christian he's a great football player he's talented um but he had a great example and mentoring Benjamin Morrison you know those two room together um in in the hotel and I would see them studying last year when when Christian wasn't the starter right he was he was the third or fourth quarterback after cam Hart um and he was preparing to be the guy and fast forward into the spring and the fall like you can't wait for your opportunity to start preparing that way and he's prepared that way um since he's gotten here and and he had a great example of how to prepare with Benjamin Morrison uh but he is now developed into a true not just a good player with great talent he is a a really good cornerback and that's with coach mickens and the way he's developed that room some of the leaders in that room and him putting the work in like he's developed into a really good quarterback and Mitchell Evans is about 10 months almost exactly 10 months remov from surgery all the stress tests on the knee that of course have to happen to clear them are there but does he take does he take contact in Camp is that even something you do with players coming back from in where they take contact on yeah benj uh uh Mitchell Evans definitely has and and same thing with Benjamin Morrison he's got some live reps with tackling even though he had shoulder surgery like you have to callous yourself a little bit right you have to tackle and you have to take live reps it's it's important that that you feel confident it's more probably more for the individual right than it is for the medical staff it's that individual needs that confidence remember Benjamin Morrison um came to me and said coach I I have to tackle like I need to tackle I want to be in there live because we kind of held them out of some live situations and and the medical staff said he do have to do that but he for his own confidence he wanted to do that um and so to have him out in that those life situations have uh uh uh Mitchell Evans out you know not being in a controlled environment um was important for their own confidence okay standing in the middle on your left Mike berardino hey marus um been about a year and a half but um you got to spend a good amount of time with Colin Klein and I just wondered what intrigued you about him what uh made him someone that was on your short list at that time for for the job and then did you guys watch a lot of film did you how much ball did you talk in that and and are there little things that probably stick in your mind and maybe in his mind that's part of the cat and mouse of this week will that show up again no I think I mean more than anything as you watch his offenses um at Kansas State he does a great job of utilizing different Personnel formation shifts um you know I remember at the time that we were you know looking for an offensive coordinator with a attracted me uh to to what they did at Kansas state was their ability to use multiple tight ends their ability to have some type of what I call a pro style offense um and have success doing it and so you see the same thing even this past year when you watch this film like a lot of different formations a lot of different personnels utilizing multiple tight ends and so um very creative mind uh so we have to again you're you're preparing for a lot more than what you're really going to see it's going to be able to we have to be able to settle down and say okay hey here's the things we think we're going to see um or that we are seeing in the first couple series and here's what we want to do defensively and they're without their top running back but one of the X factors sounds like from what they're saying down there is that true freshman Terry busy extreme speed and they might play both way all three phases yeah what how I mean I think he was on the LSU short list so maybe coach demro knew him well but what um what do you expect I how much of a factor how do you prepare for a guy playing his very first game with those skills um he's also a guy that I think where he's going to be their kick returner too um you know big high school recruit speed and he's a fast guy and uh I don't know how they're going to use him right are they going to use him as a running back or as a wide out and defensively I don't I don't know but um he's a good player he is a a a good player that uh was a good high school player that we'll have to know where he's at and and be accountant for him okay we're going to end it with that thank you coach all right thanks guys