Everything Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said in final news conference before Texas A&M game

On Thursday, Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman addressed the media for the final time before the No. 8 Irish take on No. 16 Texas A&M in South Bend. Here is everything he told reporters in his about 10-minute news conference over Zoom. 

On how Texas A&M QB Marcell Reed’s game has evolved

“I think with anything, he’s more comfortable in the pocket. I think at times last year, you would see him scramble, maybe instinctively, instead of staying in the pocket and delivering the ball. But you see this year that, I mean, he’s comfortable in the pocket. 

“He has a strong arm, and he still has an athletic skillset that it’s really a challenge to stop and tackle him. So we’ve got to continue to try to mix up some looks, try to get him to hold the ball, and then we got to keep him in the pocket. Man, he is a dangerous runner, but also can throw the ball.”

On Notre Dame QB CJ Carr’s leadership against Miami in the fourth quarter

“He’s confident. I know he has the control of the huddle. He wanted the ball in his hands. That’s who he is. He’s a competitor, and we’re confident with the ball in his hands, and we didn’t get it done in that two-minute situation last game. But again, he is a very confident individual, that he’ll be ready if that opportunity presents itself again.”

On the Notre Dame recruiting weekend

“Yeah, they’ve done a tremendous job of developing relationships with these young guys, the families. We are going to have a lot of our commits here and a lot of younger guys that are interested in Notre Dame football. It speaks volumes to the program, the team, the opponent that we’re having; they want to be at the game where you’re facing a top-tier opponent. 

“So again, this is a group effort, and our personnel staff has done a tremendous job. Our football program has put ourselves in a place where a lot of top recruits want to come see us play. So the best recruiting we can do is put on a good performance.”

On whether having Riley Leonard helps Notre Dame prepare for a dual-threat QB

“Yeah, I mean, you knew Riley could run the ball with his legs. I think understanding the opponent, understanding who you’re going against, is so important — especially with your defensive line and understanding what chances can you take and where you must stay in terms of your rush lanes. So yeah, having Riley Leonard here last year helps, but also understanding that you’ve got to watch film, you’ve got to prepare for a guy that can run. 

“We used Scrap Richardson a little bit this week at different times, playing a little bit of quarterback just gave us a little bit of different speed and athleticism back there. So, it’s just understanding you can’t play spy, you can’t be a passive, but you also have to understand rush lanes and where you cannot let the quarterback escape.”

On getting pressure with four players on defense

“Yeah, I think that you got to look at the situation. One, is it a passing situation where you know, third down, it’s a passing situation. You’re going to do some different stunts and twists that can help you get pressure on a quarterback. But if it’s first or second down, it’s a 50-50 situation where you don’t know if they’re going to run or pass. Sometimes those twists and stunts can really be problematic for a defense in terms of how to fit and stop the run. 

“So, the overarching theme to me is everybody still has to win one-on-ones. You’ve got four guys rushing and five guys protecting. Well, there’s going to be a guy that has two guys probably blocking ’em, and then there’s going to be three guys that should be in one-on-one situations. Well, the guys in the one-on-one situations have to win. They have to find a way to get pressure on the quarterback, and we can’t always stunt and twist, especially when you don’t know what the offense is going to do.”

On the challenges and assets of being an independent school and seeing different opponents yearly

“Yeah, I think the challenge is that, you at times, don’t have a familiarity with your opponent that you would maybe in-conference, where you can see the same opponent year after year. I think you look at this opponent, there’s no changes in their coordinators or head coach from last year to this year.

“So we have that familiarity in knowing that we played this program last year. But that doesn’t always happen with us every week. I think that’s where the conferences can sometimes give you an advantage and sometimes not.

“But I think for us, in terms of seeing different types of schemes, playing in different places geographically, the different locations you play in — those things help you, as you mentioned, when you’re in the postseason. You’re used to seeing all these different types of offense and defenses and being in different places. 

“So I think our guys, we really utilize it. We value our independence, and we truly look at it as a positive thing for our program.”

On what he’ll learn about the Notre Dame defense facing Reed and Miami QB Carson Beck

“Yeah, I mean, you’re facing not only good quarterbacks, but good teams and good offenses. And so, our defense did some good things Week 1. We had some areas that we have to improve at. Carson Beck did a great job of protecting the football, making fast decisions. 

“Again, you’re talking about two really good quarterbacks, but totally different, right? In that, Marcel Reed is a guy that has a strong arm — he has a cannon. But we also know the challenge he presents with his legs. 


“So each week we’re going to face really good offenses. Where it’s just unique that the first two quarterbacks we play are two of the best that you’ll see all year. So, we’ll find out about this defense. I know a lot about this defense. I know the mentality, I know the work they put in. Now, it’s time to go out there and play on Saturday.”

On how the Notre Dame defense is preparing for the Texas A&M offense

“No personnel changes. We’ll roll guys like we have previously. They (Texas A&M) are a balanced offense, and they do some really good things in the run and the pass game. It’s a different challenge than you saw Week 1.

“I think for them, obviously, they got a special quarterback, but still, their offensive line is as good as you’ll see. With five returning starters and some of the best individual talent up front that you’re going to see all year. 

“So we have to be able to stop the run, right? It’s something I’ve always said — you have to try to put offenses behind the sticks and get them into challenging situations for them. And hopefully, you put them in a position where you feel like they’re one-dimensional. So, it’s going to start with stopping the run. 

“We’re going to have to be really good in the back end with our eye control, and then we’re going to have to make plays in the pass game. It’s something that we’ve been really challenging our group that (when) the ball’s in the air, we got to go make plays. That’s the next step that this group’s got to take.  So we got a couple more days to prepare, but it’s gonna be a great challenge.” 

On the Texas A&M series being scheduled so far out

“Yeah, a lot has changed since 2014, we’re talking 11 years later. But our sport continues to change, and it will evolve. Those that can adapt are the ones I truly believe will have success.

“The players, young people, are still young people, right? There’s money involved and all those different things, but young people need challenged. Young people love to compete. Young people make mistakes. And young people make great plays. 

“So the challenge is continuously to be consistent. When you’re at a place like Notre Dame, you play these big-time opponents. That’s, again, why you choose to come to Notre Dame, to play great opponents like Texas A&M. So we’re looking forward to the opportunity to play this program on Saturday.”

On what concerns him the most about Texas A&M’s special teams

“I think one of the key factors is going to be the punt battle? They have a big-time punter with a big-time leg. We have to try to affect them with our punt return unit, and the same thing goes for our punt unit, right? They’ve shown to be aggressive. They’ve shown to do some different things on their punt return unit. That’s going to be a challenge for us.

“That battlefield position is going to be huge. You don’t get many opportunities to really return the ball on kick-off. If we get the opportunity, we’ve got to really make it; we’ve got to execute well. We got to be able to take the ball, and if we get the ball in our hands on the KOR (kickoff return), we got to really do better than we did last week when we took the one out. 

“So I think in all phases, it’s going to be a challenge. Same thing, our field goal block unit has to affect their field goal unit, and we got to be great in protection. All phases of the special teams has to be — we got to be superior.”

On dealing with the Texas A&M wide receiver corps

“Yeah, I wish I could say that’s all we’re going to do is try to be physical. But sometimes you’re overly physical with fast guys, they run right by you. So we have to, again, mix up our coverages, mix up our techniques and keep the ball in front of us.

“We got to make sure we don’t give up a big play because every one of those guys you mentioned is a home run threat. We have to make sure we’re on body but also keeping the guys in front of us because we can’t let a catch turn into an explosive play that turns into points.”