Quick-hitters: Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman on quarterbacks, offensive line, California
The mood Marcus Freeman has seen from his team in the two days following its home loss to Marshall Saturday is predictably somber. Notre Dame is 0-2 and essentially out of the College Football Playoff mix. Starting quarterback Tyler Buchner is out for the season after suffering a severe shoulder sprain in the loss.
That combination will humble any team.
“The last 36 hours has been a reality check for all of us, from the head coach to assistant coach to players in a deep evaluation of everything we’re doing to really try to figure out what our issues are,” Freeman said.
Notre Dame has to find fixes with a sense of urgency while also breaking in a new starting quarterback. Drew Pyne will step in for Buchner when Notre Dame hosts Cal Sept. 17 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC). The junior replace Buchner for the final 11 offensive plays Saturday.
Freeman discussed the week ahead, the postmortem of the Marshall loss and more Monday. Here are some of the highlights.
PROMOTION: Sign up for just $1 for your first year at Blue & Gold
On Notre Dame’s mood and pressure from starting 0-2
“There’s no more pressure from being 0-2 than being 2-0. Every week, your job is to do everything in your power to put yourself in position to win. You have an angry football team that’s not happy because of the result. What we have to focus on is not the result, but what does it take to get the result we wanted?
“Nobody around the football program is going to be extremely happy about losing a game. You have a bunch of guys who are angry but also motivated to fix the issues.”
On his message to Notre Dame’s captains
“The biggest thing is this is where we’ll need our leadership the most. The true culture of your program shows itself when things are hard. That’s how I’ve challenged those guys. I challenged them in the locker room. We talk about our culture and what type of program we have, we’ll really see it right now.
“Everybody outside that locker room is feeding different things to you. That’s where we have to be strong. Probably one of two things are going to be said to you: You’re doing your job and the rest of your coaches stink, or you stink – you all stink. Neither of those things are going to help us win. For us to stay locked into that football facility, lead each other, lean on each other, that’s what we need the most right now.”
On Cal and starting quarterback Jack Plummer
“We played against him last year when he was at Purdue. Very accurate passer. Not so much a dual-threat guy, but a guy who will put the ball where it needs to be. They have a good offensive line with big, strong guys. They’re a good team. They’re 2-0 right now. Defensively, you’ll see a couple different things. The coordinator’s son is the middle linebacker [Jackson Sirmon]. You’ll see him getting guys lined up.”
“They seem to be doing some really good things in the red zone defensively.”
On running back Chris Tyree
“We have to try to find ways to get the ball in his hands. With Chris, it’s unique because he played more plays than the other running backs, but you’re using him at so many different positions – at wideout, at slot, at running back. He’s a guy we know has to be on the field. We have to find ways to get the ball in his hands, because he’s a playmaker.”
RELATED: More Notre Dame football:
• 3-2-1: Numbers, questions & prediction for Notre Dame into California game week
• Thoughts and observations from rewatching Notre Dame’s loss to Marshall
On the running back by committee approach
“At some point, we’ll say, ‘Who’s the hot hand?’ But they all have separate packages. The things you do with Chris Tyree, you’re not always going to do with Audric [Estime]. Logan Diggs, he’s also a threat in the pass game and can do some different things. You’re going to need them all. Nowadays, using one, two running backs just doesn’t happen.
“The ability to have a stable of guys who can get the job done is important. But if there’s a guy who might have the hot hand, we have to keep him in there.”
On new No. 2 quarterback Steve Angeli
“I spent some time with him on scout team. I try to be pretty involved with those guys, especially the scout team offense. Steve is another guy who has those natural leadership traits about him. He took ownership of that scout team offense. That was good to see. He has a strong arm, but it’s a little different when you’re looking at a card. You have to read the defense, get the signals.
“Yesterday was the first day he was running with the twos at practice. I have a lot of confidence in Steve Angeli. He’s a freshman. He made a lot of progress from the start of spring to end of spring and fall camp. I’m sure he will be meeting extra with [offensive coordinator Tommy] Rees and Drew will be pulling him along, helping him along.
On Notre Dame’s offensive line play through two weeks
“We look at the entire picture of our offensive line. They made progress from Week 1 to Week 2. I’m sure they’ll make progress from Week 2 to Week 3. We want to expedite that process. You have to look at the big picture of, ‘What’s the best five?’ That’s something we’ve looked at, we’ve talked about and we feel really strongly about the five we have out there.
“There’s still inexperience, but they’re getting better. It’s those details we have to continue to improve, your fundamentals. The offensive line position, you have to understand exactly what you’re supposed to do, but it’s the true fundamentals of where your hat placement goes, your footwork.
“That’s where we have to get better, the consistency of doing those fundamentals. I know [offensive line coach Harry Hiestand is just pounding them and trying to get them to that point where they’re perfect. But it’s a process to get to that point.”
