Frank Walks Season 2 Premier with Marcus Freeman Presented by BodyArmor

[Music] well thank you for joining me on Frank walks you know I don't know if you noticed but the walk actually started on the campus of Notre Dame uh was there for the Ohio State game last year I did a nice long walk from uh where we parked to the stadium and uh it dawned me you know I should be doing more walks and a couple days later I started my big streak and we're almost at 300 right now where we at uh 296 is today okay so we're almost at 300 today and it was basically Notre Dame started this and uh now you're about ready to start a big season for the for the Irish I feel I feel that we have a opportunity to become a playoff regular especially with the 12 teams now what are your what is your goals as the season begins I mean that's always an expectation at Notre Dame uh expectations to win championships and so I'm excited about this this group of players um this coaching staff and you know we got a great schedule ahead of us it's going to be a challenging schedule but you know our focus is to make sure that we're really playing to our full potential our full capability and that's that's your your focus right that's your mind same thing with you as you start your walks and you know what who knew you were going to get close to 300 days when you started it's amazing it's amazing the momentum yeah amen and another Dame as they do almost every year it seems you start the season off with a test you have to go down to College Station you have to go down to uh Texas A&M as the agies are getting ready for their first season uh for a big season with new coach I mean what what do you have to say about this game in Texas A&M taking on the aies taking on that tradition the 12 man what a way to start huh I mean we're competitors man you really want to play the best of the best and college game day night game um I've never been down to College Station I hear it's going to be crazy but I love that our guys love that man and we got to prepare and make sure we have a chance to have success when we're down there but um it's going to be a great test to see where this group is at man as we start this season the one thing about Notre Dame is you being a an independent you always like have these big schedules you always have these National games these big games I mean with the super conferences now is that going to be possible to no D to stay in independent or are they going to be be forced one day to actually join like the big 10 or the ACC well again I don't we're going to stay in dependent as long as we can and as long as we are not at a disadvantage in terms of making the playoffs in terms of being able to capitalize off of Revenue and other different situations that um sometimes being a conference helps out with uh then we'll stay independent that's where Notre Dame was built we are built on being independent going across the country and playing different teams and so um I think we'll continue to do it as long as we can and uh I think we're as well positioned right now than we ever been as we've gone we as we go into this 12 team playoff um conference realignment it's still Notre Dame's in a a great position as a football program and You Begin the season ranked number five so you're right there you're right in the heart of what would be the playoffs so you you start the season off with that that goal that you have to stay here now I I see that you got a new quarterback Riley Leonard yeah and I recall last year he was with Duke yeah oh yeah and uh he he almost won that game for the for the Blue Devils yeah he's a man he's a great player um he's been a great teammate and uh that's what I'm most excited for him uh and his football team like he's coming here and became a great teammate and now is doing a great job uh leading uh being a leader and so we all know how Talent He Is We played against him last year uh when he was at Duke and uh I'm excited to get him into to fall Camp you know he didn't play a lot in the spring because of injuries uh but he he did some mental work right mentally he had to do some work but now as we going to fall Camp he'll be full go and I'm excited to see what he can do I mean I'm looking forward to I think this is going to be an exciting season for no name I look at their schedule you're coming to New York twice you're coming to uh the metal lands to take on Navy that annual game and then you take on Army in the 100th anniversary of the Four Horsemen at Yankee Stadium yeah yeah what a isn't that a Notre Dame schedule I mean you talk you start down in Texas College Station we have two games in New York we're finishing the season in California USC like that's but that's what Notre Dame was built on right and and you know the 100th anniversary of Four Horsemen um we're looking forward to and then to be New York twice I mean this is uh another Dame of the East you know I mean you New York because we never really had a college football team here what grew up in is water's a massive amount of Notre Dame fans in New York is back in the 50s and 60s and 70s the day after Sunday they'd have the Notre Dame highlight show yeah and it like they call him Subway alumnist and it's always been a big part of it so new it's almost like no Dame has been part of New York and for fans that don't didn't go to college or fans that didn't have a team they they gravitated to Notre Dame yeah you know I think it's awesome where there was a period of time where the only game you could watch on TV um without having cable was a Notre Dame game and I think you know it it starts obviously way before that but you see a lot of people in that Generation Um being Notre Dame fans even if they didn't go to Notre Dame Subway alumni as you say and I think it's it's it's reflection of that a reflection of them watching Notre Dame football on Saturdays uh a reflection of them believing in what Notre Dame stands for and what notame stands for to me has always been they've always gone after like players who are just not just great football players but great men they've always gone after players who are leaders I a lot of people who who go to Notre Dame end up becoming coaches a lot of people who go to Notre Dame end up like being like leaders and stuff and I think that's a big part of what Notre Dame is about yeah amen you know it's just we we still take pride in that till this day is the holistic young man the holistic student athlete um how do you make sure that you not only come to Notre Dame and and Thrive as an athlete you reach all your athletic goals that means being a national championship as a team or a first round pick or all those goals that you have personally and as a football team but also how do you make sure you're four good how do you make sure that you leave Notre Dame and you're better because of your time you spent there and you know you're set to take on this world and be well positioned because of being part of Notre D I mean you have the heart you always have one of the toughest schedules you always every game's on national TV and then you have that Stadium the historic the history of that Stadium touch you have Touchdown Jesus looking over the statues and of course the big tradition play Like A Champion that sign I mean it's a big Legacy we got to get you to touched that have you touched it yet I have not touched the sign all right we'll get you to do that you know next time you visit for sure it is it's man it's an honor it's humbling every time you walk on campus but obviously walk into that Stadium um to be able to sometimes man think about you're walk into the house that Rockne built you see we go into the new Rockne gate all those National Championship uh coaches uh the tradition the history and it's a reminder man we have to uphold that standard you know one of the things about being the coach of no Dame is it probably is one of more High PR your jobs in college football because every game be on TV with the traditions and the uphold and the expectations every year what would you just say about that you love that right like what what competitor doesn't want that what coach what player does like you don't want to go somewhere in the expectations to be hey average I want to go somewhere the expectations to when every game you play to win national championships and then you go and you work on your process and your plan to to achieve that but I don't want to be at a place where the expectations aren't to win a championship and so I believe we have a bunch of players that that believe that and and a coaching staff that believes that too well I think uh not Dame's in for a great season and I'm looking forward to it I'm looking forward to uh uh seeing how this 12 team playoff goes and I think I I think no Dame's going to be in the playoffs so uh thank you for joining us and it was a good time and uh I know I'm going to get to the two games uh that Yankee Stadium and uh at MetLife uh I'll see if I can get the South Bend this year but let's make it happen Frank let's make it Happ thanks for joining us thank you man it's been an honor well the co coach Freeman had to go do an interview here at ESPN but I got a couple players here to join us so I would you like to uh so I can continue up my step count come on let's go what's I'm Riley Mills defensive lineman Jack Kaiser linebacker all right and uh one thing that no name you notice is they've always got a great defense they always have a great defense so what has your career has been like at Notre Dame guess I'll take it so yeah my career you know this my fifth year uh my fifth season I'm going on and you know for me I came back just to be a better version of myself but you know it started out the co season so it was definitely like a different experience and I feel like a lot of other people's freshman years but yeah it was definitely crazy and then each year just got better and better and then now we're here uh Jack yeah so I'm heading my sixth season um seing a lot lot of different changes coaching changes different DCs um it's been a lot of fun um and it's just been every year just continue to improve um getting more playing time on defense becoming a bigger um impact player and starter all that and so really excited to keep that going now last year one of your the toughest games that that you pulled out at the end was against Duke yep and uh that quarterback you kind of car you up a little bit yeah I remember watching film that week man and saying man 13's pretty good I mean and so yeah I mean uh now now you have to see this guy almost every day carve you up every day but the good news is on Saturdays he's going to be on your side exactly he's going to be carving up people for us and so it's the best thing having having a dude on on the other side of the ball for you and making plays um and it certainly is going to help the team tremendously I mean uh Leonard I I I I think that's going to be a big addition for n Dame this year I personally and especially we you begin the season though with a little bit of pressure you got you got number five you're number five going into the season yeah uh number five um there's always high expectations at NRE Dame though oh well the Notre Dame is always going to have the high expectations yeah and uh you begin with a tough schedule I mean you had to go down to tchm against take on the aies that first week of the Season yeah yeah well I I feel like that's a great thing about being a noted aim is like we can play anybody so every year you're going to have a tough schedule like you're going to be able to play teams and the SEC ACC Big 10 like we get the experience of playing everybody that's one advantage at Notre Dame is B and every game's on TV and of course this year you have uh two games in the New York area against uh you'll be taking on Navy at MetLife Stadium in October and you're going to be taking on Army at Yankee Stadium in the 100th anniversary of the uh the The Four Horsemen game hem uh what are you looking forward to what games you looking forward to most of the season and what are you looking forward to most season this with this expanded playoff yeah yeah I think definitely it's a great opportunity and iine know for us like if we take care of business on both sides of the ball and we get to the 12 team playoff you know puts us in a really great position I mean I think Notre Dame is now in a position now where they could possibly be in the playoffs almost every year that's the plan I mean uh I think that's I think that's one good thing about the playoff when I saw to expand the playoff and I know that nor Dame there's a lot of years where they're 8 N9 10 that they're right there they're going to be right I they're going to be in the conversation every single year uh and then and then and then playing a playoff game in South Bend in December like that's a tough challenge for any team coming from the south oh yeah that first playoff game that first playoff game could possibly be at at Notre Dame at Notre Dame I mean imine that with the fan base and on a Saturday in South Bend it's different what is it like to walk out on that field to walk on that the history of that field yeah the stadium just seems like it's like you think about college football iconic grounds I don't think there's more iconic ground in that Stadium touchdown you have Touchdown Jesus uh you have the statues you have the campus you and then you have the design play Like A Champion absolutely so every day or every game day you know we have the player walk leaving the Basilica right in front of the Dome you know walk over campus in front of the touchdown Jesus into the new Rockne gate you know into the the famous you know loock room that you see in Rudy and then right before the game you run run down the tunnel slap in the sign when you run out to you know 80,000 fans it's it's pretty special it's pretty enough especially like right before the game before kickoff they play Here Come the Irish and I know for me like that just gets me like I get a little bit like I a little Tey and like I just get like chills every time I hear it well one thing one thing I always feel about Notre Dame is that fight song MH the Notre Dame victory march probably the most iconic fight song in sports I mean wake up the echo's calling her name yeah AB send a dund Val cheer on high I you want to sing it uh let's see cheer cheer for not Dame wake up the echo calling her name send a volley cheer on high the Thunder from the sky there we go there we go we do that after every game we do that song yeah what question you guys have for Frank okay I guess I'll start off so oh yeah all right so Frank first question at Notre Dame stadium in the end zones do you understand the significance of the lines in Notre Dame Stadium the lines you mean the uh the the way they Mark The End Zone yes I've never understood that but I've always thought it was interesting that they that that they've had the history what is do what do those lines actually mean okay so for the uh the lines they're pointed at 42 de and there's nine of them in each end zone and they all point right towards uh or the Dome and that pretty much goes to signify that like we're the Irish we're coming home like this is our Dome our Stadium I never knew that and then so again there's 18 total Stripes at a 42° angle the school was founded in 1842 so there's the correlation all right let's all right I think we got some really good stuff do you have other questions for I got I got yeah one good one yeah yeah okay and new rockney allamerican the movie way back when who played George giip uh Ronald Reagan there we go there we go we know the ndame is you know uh you know uh I think I don't know if it was like through his entire 8-year presidency his secret service Coden name was Gipper oh I did not know that see we're learning something so yeah his secret service Coden name for at least at least part of his presidency was Gipper okay that's good stuff okay can you name all the national championship coaches that that won a national championship at Notre Dame uh let's see I know uh new rockney of course yep uh Frank Ley yes uh ARA Parian yep uh Dan Divine yep Lou Holtz yep I don't there might be one I miss S no I think that you hit it on the nail hopefully we can add hopefully we add Marcus Freeman y that'll be let's get him a stat let's get him a statue but yeah those are the I mean AR Parian Dan Divine of AR Parian of course Dan deine were there for the years the the Rudy years and udy years and of course Dan Divine won his National Championship with uh Joe Montana yep and I think the most important question is was Rudy off sides well you heard the story right yeah I mean we've heard it but we've lived it right they're saying that I Joe Joe Montana came out and said that the whole thing was like sarcasm that they that they put him on his shoulders I don't know I I can't verify that but I do know there there there had been some review he might have been off sides no but he's definitely Le but Joe Montana actually I think was like a like a a third string freshman backup on when it happened yeah you know what's funny is the Rudy game 5 days before my birthday I was born okay happened like like the week the Saturday before I was born there you go that's awesome um yeah like I was born the next Thursday after the Rudy game well uh obviously your goal is to get in the playoffs this year to have a big season for Notre Dame and I think Notre Dame is going to I I I think it's going to be a great year for no Dame I think 10 wins again is definitely uh in reach always play tough schedule always play everybody anybody going to be every G on TV and I look forward to a great Ser season for you guys and I'm I think we're going to see you in the playoffs so good luck have a great year thank you for joining us uh and let's go let's get you a game this year oh yeah yeah I went last year you know the walks actually started I know on the camp Notre Dame I don't know if I'll get to South Bend this year but I'll definitely be at the uh games the games at the mands and Yankee Stadium awesome we go that would be great you guys show Frank good three point stand yeah it's done all right ready Frank Get Down wi your base like this put your put your right foot back my right foot yeah your right foot back there you go other hand down right pull it away on the front hand all right put yeah get that hand right there right in front there you go we go 101 we just get straight Oklahoma drill you got linebacker you be running back one rep one rep what in Oklahoma drill yeah straight mon yeah Knowle pass yeah I'm 48 yeah and I'm not as big as I used to be so5 and I'm small I'm not as big as I used to be I mean I used to be 500 lb so yeah you're doing great yeah we've been following your progress really proud of you fans of you big fans so thanks for joining us and uh thanks for having us yeah I can't wait for the season I think it's going to be a great year for nor Dame [Music] excited well we always walked basically