Texas A&M | Postgame Press Conference | Notre Dame Football

Marcus Freeman man that was a a huge victory for our program um over a really really good football team uh that is an impressive football team that's going to win a lot of games uh I got a lot of respect for for Coach Elco and and that's a good group we just faced and we able to beat and it wasn't pretty our defense played lights out turnovers and our offense you know what they we didn't turn the ball over we yes there's a lot of things we got to work on but man they they did a great job job of at least trying to move the chains we're trying to um win the battle a field position and you know what we didn't make a detrimental mistake and uh really proud of that group um both sides of the ball was good for James uh Rendell our punter to to get his first game and and Mitch was big time man Mitch was uh that was clutch and uh there was a lot of thought going into that field goal whether to you know what go for it on four um or kick the field goal and and uh also me we made the decision to kick it and uh it was clutch and that sealed the game so proud of this team this coaching staff the sports performance staff our team was prepared they were ready um like I said there wasn't many guys that went down I don't know if we had any guys cramping I think we did one I I don't know like we had one guy had to get some fluids but I mean these guys were ready and prepared for a battle I mean that's what it was it was a four quarter battle and uh I'm proud of this group and so with that open up for questions we're going to start with Pete right in the front though marus you're pretty fired up coming off the field uh can you can you describe what tonight means to you you know it's you know we always say execution fuels emotion and then when you have a success like that you're emotional man you're I appreciate our fans man we had we knew right where they were going to be I showed the players I showed the the whole football program I said this is right where our fans are going to be this is exactly what the stadium is and so we knew right where to go and and we appreciate uh our fans that travel from all over the country to support us and it's just a proud moment man sometimes your emotions gets the best of you but hopefully that happens after a game not during we're GNA go with Tim prer right the middle early in the second half you go for the fourth and one you go for it again reference the the field goal at the end of the game I mean you're making decisions as if you have no fear about theion of is that kind of what this team what thisam is try to what it is yeah we want to be aggressive we want to be attacking um and if I tell our group that we want to be aggressive and attacking I have to be that way as a coach and you got to live with sometimes on Fourth and two you didn't get it um I felt confident that we could get it um I made a decision and um and that's why we did it but I don't want to play cautious I want to be smart we have a plan going into the game and this was our plan hey if it was one yard at this situation we're going for it if it's two yards at this situation we're going for it um but I want to be aggressive but also smart wasag it it wasn't a specific plan for him um it was a you know in certain situations where we use seven-man Pro um instead of just five and and six yeah but you know our guys battle right they're dline made some plays they're really good man uh I said that after the game I don't know it probably be the best we see um but our guys battled young guys that haven't been out there in proud of I saw one time Sam missed the block and and his guy made the play and he was able to refocus and and understand that was the last play man let's refocus we have confidence in you go out there and do it and and uh it was a a great growing moment for this this offensive line front row second one in on your left coach Marcus thanks um the fourth quarter you had the ball for 8 minutes 46 seconds 106 of your yard of off game in the quarter to just 5 yard obviously 17 the second a win like this what does it maybe say about the process about your team's toughness and maybe how validating is it for the preparation you put to play your best quarter in the fourth quarter after dealing with the silent yeah it's rewarding um a lot of work went into this first game from a lot of different people and to mean to to have it go the way it did and it's like you you say it's going to be a four quarter game it's going to come down to the to very last minute but it's it's never fun when it when it goes that way um but I'm proud of of how we finish but at the same point like it shows it we we got a dang good football team but we got a the head coach in you says refocus and get back to work right you get 12 guaranteed opportunities so it isn't like you prepare a certain way for week one CU it's it's Texas A&M and you don't prepare the next week for I I don't even know who we play next week I'll figure it out um but we got to prepare to to really make sure we're performing at a high level and U that's how I I got to let them celebrate tonight we got to get refocused tomorrow and get back to work and You' called winner a winner so I wonder what kind of conversations did you have with him on the sideline especially in the fourth quarter did he tell you hey I'm I mean he's a competitor he is a competitor he wants the ball in his hands you know he's putting his shoulder down he got a Hu he got a bruise on his hand I mean he he took some hits but he's a competitor and wants his ball in his hands and I got a lot of confidence in a guy like Riley Leonard at the end of the game put the ball in his hands he'll make good decisions and uh lead this offense to Victory right next door you sort of take this in the headset your conversation with de Brock when it's backed up at 15 and ultimately like what worked in that final drive particular like the way you guys blocked up the inside R to score it that been tough all night you know what it reminded me of is the Duke game from last year right and it was the the thought process do we tell them to go go down if something happens when we break it do we tell him to go down or we do score and I just I didn't want to put that in his head I didn't want to take points off the board um the analytics will probably tell you to go down and uh but again it you know again just as I told Den Brock man keep battling were we tied at that time or we were we were tied at that time I can't remember but hey we were good I it was a lot of confidence I remember I kept saying in huddle like this is right where we want to be this is right what we've talked about we got a lot of confidence now go execute on this play right and so that was my communication with him howy played ton how is that you expect wanted to for this game yeah for this game each week will change but this was exactly the game plan for our offense this game um we had to be smart versus a really good defense and uh we executed really well back againstall that when you look at who made the biggest plays especially down the stretch for you guys freshman sophomores transfers how validating is the last three years of work you've been to this program to see it come to light kind of on this stage and have those guys be the ones who yeah I wish I could take credit but we got a lot of good coaches and good Personnel that um are able to attract the right kids to this place that are either young kids or freshman or register freshman first or second year guys that are helping us or some transfers that have to fit into the culture we have right that's the one thing that when we talk about bringing in transfers they have to be really good good players or great players but they have to fit the cach we have right and and that was a sign of of what you saw out there as guys that are really good players that fit this place in this culture this is last question last question I don't know much he said it was an ankle um he said he was like coach I'm good I'm done for this game but I'm good so I I have confidence he'll be back I don't know what the timetable is yeah um yeah I mean the white out room I'm GNA kind of pivot to the white out room there's some guys stepped up man we we're going to we're six deep right now um and we could be seven or eight uh I'm really proud Bo Bo Collins did a great job and I looked at Riley a couple times said hey trust him now you know and he's got to keep his composure after making a big play um he knows that but uh you know he was he he made some big plays coach Brown's in a really good job and I'm going to give him a shout out man with that room and getting six guys to be unselfish and it's hard man white outs want the ball man those dudes those are selfish people at times you know and so Coach Brown has done a great job at um keeping them unselfish to really taking pride in their blocking they're running their routes gray um and they're taking advantage of their opportuni so uh it was really good to see and some guys had to step up when FIS on went down thank you coach thanks guys be safe heading back see you guys M how we doing how we doing oh wow I'm Riley Leonard doing great all right oh my bad you got it night easy the the whole what does it say about this go that yeah yeah first of all it says we got a great defense they played great all night um but to be able to come out you know matter you know we made it when it counts all right so the last Drive uh everybody had all the confidence in the world that we were going to be able to go down there and score um it was just a matter of when and uh you know finally by the fourth quarter um we kind of got things going and that last Drive meant a lot to us right next theball coup tonight how did you feel running the ball rushing yeah yeah I great uh that's obviously one of my one of my strengths so I I play the game you know the way I play I play the game I won't change that for anybody or anything or any injury you know it can't stand in my way so um I was able to use it to my benefit tonight and uh you know get after it with the legs a little bit just two to the left there Tyler work up front row in a game like that where it's that tough for both sides how difficult is it to kind of stay in and get to that point where you are able to kind of go on a game yeah it's tough especially in that environment that's an environment that that I'm sure none of us have really ever played in before I mean the SEC is different coming down here in Texas is different um I I remember looking up and like trying to see the end of the stands and like you literally just can't even see the top um incredible place to play very grateful for the outcome obviously and yeah love these guys sharp left down here against the wall how much pride do you take in your leadership Ro yeah it means everything to me to be a new guy that comes in um it wasn't really able to participate much in the winter and the spring with my injuries I made it a point of emphasis in the summer to get after it um as far as leadership and uh you know getting my body back um I think it's it's paid off and it's only just beginning I think this was an opportunity for me to prove to my teammates that not only can I lead them off the field but I can lead him on the field as well when when it really matters and as a quick follow I know you didn't want this to make to be about you and El facing considering much you guys I feel like there is a game within the game uh when playing him uh obviously the third down packages are always big and he got me a few times um with the protections like he drew up some really good stuff so I have to go back and watch it um but yeah there's just like that game within the game and the targeting penalty in early in the game and it's like you know he's it's funny it's funny because we're we're obviously playing Notre Dame versus A&M but it there's obviously a rivalry there so to speak with me and coach and it's all love at the end of the day but we're both very competitive Sam Marcus talked about how nobody made a detrimental mistake so was interested how your mentality it's like you want to play to win but you also want to not take yourself out of it like how do balance those two uh I think when you have a when you have a good defense you don't have to put the ball in Jeopardy you don't have to play risky um at the same time you know you you want to score I it's a tough it's a tough game to play um a lot of the game I do feel like we weren't as aggressive and and there weren't any huge mistakes but shoot there a lot of mistakes and a lot of them by me that I got to fix um but at the end of the day uh we'll get that cleaned up and film and and be just fine right next to another Riley to uh be able to come into this environment handle the noise be tied take their best shot and and Come Away with what do you think it says about this team and this potential shoot we're a gritty team and we Embrace that I think that every game we go into uh we know we're going to fight our tail off uh to win I think we got a lot of talent this year and that complements our hard work and I feel like we can go into any if we can go into this environment and beat a team like that um that's coached as well as they are I feel like that gives us all the confidence in the world to go into any environment in the country mat for to the left here when you were looking at transer options you talk to the players on this roster and you envision A Moment Like This what was it about the character in that locker room that made you I me those want to be the guys you go into war with on the fourth quarter right yeah I tell people all the time on my recruiting visit I only took one uh recruiting visit to any school when I was in the the p and that was a Notre Dame and what sold me was the dinner we just went out to I went out to eat with like 10 15 of the guys and I was just sold that this was the right place for me I think that everybody has um a purpose in being here one is to win for this great school um and then it's two to to get to higher levels of football um everybody's on the same page in that everybody wants to win and and better themselves as a football player and that's a culture that I want to be a part of um you know just bettering themselves off the team I this is one of the biggest bragging points about this team is we have like 40 guys guys show up to our Bible study on sometimes on on every Thursday and that that's really a credit to them it started with like five guys but it's grown to like 40 and uh this team is just so close and and everything that we do we do as a unit our last question all the way in the back on right R you talked about before the offensive line although young but you had faith in them what was it like out there a dude I didn't I didn't feel feel a thing up front I mean obviously there were some times I vacated the pocket a little prematurely but overall I don't know how many sacks they had against us but I'm sure it wasn't wasn't a lot I I think they did a phenomenal job like all credit to them um in the Run game and the pass game like these guys worked their tail off and and I think somebody told me before the game it was like six total starts it is what it is these are no Dame offensive lineman they're going to get their job done and Co talk about you being able to trusting specifically both throughout this match up um talk about that increased faith in him right yeah bo bo incredible incredible guy um very hard worker I missed him uh you know you just got to throw the ball up to to the dude and I was trying to be too cute and throw a back shoulder earlier and and by the end of the by the end of that last Drive I was like shoot I'm just going to throw the ball up and let him make a play and he did like that was an extremely pivotal moment in the football game and when it matters most just throw it up to B thank you Riley thank you guys God bless Mitch cheer next Mitch Jeter your Tyler we're start with you right said that's the toughest place that he's ever played in how tough is it kick yeah it's a uh it's a great place to play you know um playing in the SEC is pretty pretty TP Notch and to come in here and get out with a victory is great for our team um it's it's a great place to play and um I think this is my third time playing here so I've gotten to see it a couple times and some other places in the SEC too so it it Compares like none other right here in the front sorry last K there Mitch your conversations like with with Marcus and the coaching staff on the sideline how much did you convey your confidence um it wasn't really me talking to them honestly I let the coaches make the decision and try to go out there and execute um but yeah you know we were kind of trying to ice the game there with either pinning him deep with a punt or you know kicking the field goal to go up two scores um so that was kind of our conversations there and you know blessed to have the opportunity to go out there and execute the camera thank you what did it mean to be able to get yeah I mean um you know I really want to give some credit to my Long Snapper and my holder Reno monforte and Chris Sero both those guys being able to go out there in their first games for not aim and as starters and be able to go out there and execute um was really proud of them for going out there and just um aside from the noise and the crowd and everything that was out there just being able to go out there and do their jobs like we do in practice um and be able to set the tone early last question for you Mitch right front Ry got a similar question like when you're make a decision to come here how much of it is you played here before but like playing a game like this a season that like could go some special places how much of that was part of your decision to come here I mean I didn't I don't think I really looked at Notre Dame's schedule whenever I was in the portal trying to make a decision more like the team coming back yeah um you know obviously Notre Dame has got a great team um and has you know great recruits coming in all the time so I feel like we're able to just have a positive outlook on every single year um but whenever I was kind of looking around it was really what was like the best opportunity for me as a graduate student to be able to go to a school that I could get um a really good master's degree from and play top tier football as well awesome thank you so much Adon Shuler um you know uh for us our coaches have put us in this position that practice every day so you know just go out there execute do your job and you know let let things come to you how did it feel that first interception amazing it felt good um you know I just trusted the coaches in the preparation and you know God so all the way sharp to the left um what's it like to play secondary with so many Playmakers so many ballhawks uh it's it's amazing it's a blessing um you know they push me every day um it is it's kind of cool not to kind of be the face so you know just kind of making making a name for myself is kind of my goal being with them uh right here to your left as well I think last three defensive series you guys turnover on Downs end of the game and then forced pun all all obviously in the fourth quarter maybe how much does this defense want that to be mity that when the gam on the line you're going to go shut it down yeah that that's our mindset um you know going into last year uh coaches say like um you know that's that's that's us and we had to bring that to to this season as well and that's what we're trying to do camera right in the middle shirt how much of a tone Setter is this game not just for defense but you feel like for the whole team yeah a huge tone Setter um you know it's it's no other place to play but uh here and kind of the hype is is kind of where we wanted and you you know we we handle business right in front of you last question Don when um you guys towards the end there the Irish fans are pretty fired up chaining SEC SEC what does this wind say about the type of potential you guys have this season and the types of teams that you're capable of beating um you know it's it's just a name uh at the end of day we're another Dame and you know we feel like we can compete with anybody and you know that we showed that today awesome thank you so much thank y'all