Live updates: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman Nov. 10 press conference before Pittsburgh

Freeman on CJ Carr adjusting to the way defenses defend him:

“I think teams, at the end of the day, are saying, ‘We can’t allow Notre Dame to run the football.’ … CJ has gotta continuously be good at recognizing what the defense is telling you.” (via Jack Soble)

“They’re all different — you evaluate each one. Were they impact or fatigued? There’s a lot of things that go into why concussions happen…We have to find ways to prevent them…Some take longer to return from than others, but we have a very strict return-to-play protocol and we’re going to lean on the side of safety before they return to contact.”

“The top three are playing as well as anyone — between Malachi, Will and Faison. KK is making big plays, and some other guys are stepping up. It’s a credit to the work they put in. The statistics reflect the decision-making on the quarterback and the confidence from the offensive coordinator to scheme it up…It’s great to see multiple guys performing well. Coach Brown has done a great job in that room. And credit to CJ for putting the ball where it needs to be, and the offensive line has to protect so CJ can get the ball to those guys. It’s a really good situation.”

“When he’s ready, he’s ready. When he can get back, he’ll play. He’s trying to get to the point where he can help us, but he’s not there yet. He’s working tirelessly to get back to helping this football team.”

Schrauth has been out since late October with a knee injury. He’s missed two games so far.

“He’s as special of a football player as I’ve been around. Every time he has the ball in his hands, he can make something positive happen. He’s a dangerous offensive weapon. The value he has in our team — you can put him at wideout, you can motion him, you can hand him the ball — and he can make something happen…He’s as skilled as I’ve ever been around, and he works his tail off to prepare.”

“JG is putting in so much work on trying to get that hamstring where it needs to be. Last week, we had to extract some blood from his hamstring. Mentally, he’s in a good place. He’s as frustrated as anyone; he wants to be out there. We have to keep working and we’ll see what happens in the days and weeks, depending on how it heals.”

“This is not a trap game. This is a real challenge…We have to get to work and continue to work.”

The Notre Dame head coach is reflecting on the Navy game and noted that he was pleased with Erik Schmidt’s performance against the Midshipmen.

“Erik had a routine and that we all believed was producing in improving results. And then the BC game happened — it was failure, it was trauma. Now because of desperation to fix it, you come up with a new routine and different answers. The struggle forces you to seek new answers…This new routine Erik has is the foundation for what he does moving forward. We have to continue to enhance it.

“I’m proud of him.”