Who will kick field goals for Notre Dame vs. NC State? Everything coach Marcus Freeman said Thursday

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman addressed the media for the final time before the No. 16 Irish (3-2) face NC State (4-2) on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Here is everything Freeman said in his about 11-minute meeting with reporters over Zoom.

On what Notre Dame has decided on its placekicking situation

“Yeah, right now, (fifth-year) Noah [Burnette] will be ready to go. He will kick today, and we plan on Noah being our kicker, and if he’s not, then probably go (with freshman) Erik [Schmidt]. Right now, we already plan on Erik probably being a longer-distance (kicker), depending on where Noah’s line will be, but Noah will be our kicker.”

On what is expected from the players beyond practice in preparation for a game

“Yeah, again, just to reiterate what you talked about, do I think momentum is real? Yeah, I think it helps you with confidence, but I think as you look back over a certain period of time, you say, ‘OK, they had momentum?’ So you asked me about the off-the-field work, there’s a certain amount of hours that we can practice. There’s a certain amount of hours we keep. 

“How do we make sure that in those hours off the field that we’re meeting, that the focus and intentional — the intentional focus is where it needs to be? That our meetings are as maximized in terms of how we’re teaching. Our players are receptive and in the moment in those meetings. 

“And then during the time that they have free time, what are they doing? You have very little free time. I often remind them, with the class requirements that you have, with the amount of sleep we want ’em to get. And so in that very limited free time, what are we choosing to do?

“I always say your choices reflect, especially during that free time, what you value. We have to continue to be intentional in that free time of doing something to help us improve. That could be physically getting treatment. That could be what you’re fueling your body with. That could be watching film. That could be meeting with your coaches.

“Those are the things I think that we have to continue to elevate and emphasize if we want to continue with this momentum that we’re having.”

On what stands out about NC State sophomore QB CJ Bailey and RB Hollywood Smothers

“Yeah, I mean, you said what I see on film, right? The length of the quarterback and his ability to throw it and spread it out. I know the tight end has the most receptions, but he does a good job of spreading the ball and making good decisions. 

“And Smothers is a real problem. He is a challenge. He is really good. He’s got great contact balance. He makes you miss (with) a really good spin move, and so we have to continue to pursue the ball. There’s going to be missed tackles. In any game, there’s missed tackles, but we have to make sure that we’re gang-tackling Smothers. That we’re relentlessly pursuing the football and we’re physical when we get there, and we’re taking good and proper angles.

“And with Bailey, you’ve got to try to make him uncomfortable with pre-snap reads. You’ve got to try to get pressure on him, and you can’t let him escape vertically. You can’t let him escape through the B-gap and run vertically to extend plays as a passer.”

On what fifth-year wide receiver Will Pauling has done to elevate the wide receiver room as a leader

“Yeah, I often say a reflection of the leader is the impact they make when they’re there versus if they’re not there. I use the temperature of a room; if it’s the same when he’s there and he’s not there, then he’s probably not that much of a leader. 

“How does he do that? It’s one, by the example he sets in terms of how he practices. He practices at an extremely high level with high velocity. He’s a confident individual. He’s a verbal leader. He encourages the group. Guys like to be around him. And he’s a spark in terms of, maybe what he says, maybe what he does, but it builds confidence in those guys around him. 

“So, there’s a lot of things he’s done to elevate the position in a very short period of time, and you don’t often see people do that. He’s a tremendous asset to this team and a tremendous asset to that wide receivers room.”

On redshirt freshman safety Tae Johnson’s recruitment and how Freeman helped Johnson understand Notre Dame is the place for him

“Yeah, I think, maybe, you look at Tae, where he grew up, where he’s from. I don’t know if he grew up understanding the value of what a place like Notre Dame can provide you. He knows about Notre Dame football, but there’s so much to this place that provides value to the rest of your life. That was important for me to make sure Tae understood in this recruitment. 

“You could use examples like Jaylon Smith — who grew up similar — maybe went to a different type of school, but grew up in a similar area, and look at the success he’s having off the field as well as what he did on the field.

“So the ability to get Tae to understand that, ‘Hey, everything you want football-wise can be achieved here. But you have to understand the value this place provides you off the field and the value this place provides you for the rest of your life.’ 

“And so you convinced him of that, but I think he’s starting to see that now. He’s starting to understand that being here. But he really won’t understand it until probably he’s out of here. And when you look back and say, ‘Wow, I’m in a position I’m in or have the opportunities I have because I chose a place like Notre Dame.’”

On the NCAA doing away with redshirts and going with five years of eligibility, and the NCAA adopting one transfer portal window

“Yeah, I was a proponent of getting that transfer portal window to one window. I wasn’t overly opinionated on when that window was. I know the Big Ten supported the post-spring window, and the SEC was really pushing the winter window. I saw the pros and cons of both, but I was a huge proponent of getting it to just one window. 

“As far as the 5 for 5, I think it’s great for young people to be able to play five years, to not worry about redshirt. It helps us as coaches really not consider, ‘OK, can they only play four games? Can we not play this guy one play in a game?’ It just allows you to just play. 

“I think each institution will have to kind of look at what the scholarships entail. Is it through graduation? Most scholarships are tied to the graduation, right, in terms of four years to get a degree. So I think each school will have to kind of look at that, or maybe the NCAA will come up with a rule in terms of how long the scholarship is tied to the five years.

“So I think there’s a lot of things that are gonna have to be worked out, but for young people and really for coaches, I think it’s a great thing.”

On who has stood out on scout team and who on the roster emulates Bailey

“If you’ve got some guys that can kind of try to emulate (Bailey) throwing the ball, but, with some of those athletic, really athletic quarterbacks, we can use (freshman) Scrap Richardson to do some running. We used him this week to emulate the Wildcat quarterback. But Blake [Hebert] has done a great job of being our scout team quarterback.

“I look at — I know it’s hard to just pick one or two people — the whole O-line. I really like what Cam has done. (Freshman) Cam Herron has done as a center. The way he works. (Junior walk-on tight end) Henry Garrity has done a great job.

“And here’s another like, Matt — oh shoot, I just lost his name — I’m sorry, gosh, [redshirt freshman wide receiver] Matt Jeffery. He’s a guy that spends half of the week on scout team and then half of the week with the offense, but he’s a difference maker, right?. You talk about guys that elevate the play of others, what he does on our scout team and the look he gives our defense has been unbelievable. (Senior walk-on wide receiver) Leo Scheidler does.

“So, there’s a lot of guys defensively. (Freshmen) Joe Reiff, Chris Burgess has done a good job. Those young D-line — Davion Dixon — they really have done a good job on the scout team. D-line. (Freshman safety) Jadon Blair has really, really looked good.

“I’m naming a lot of guys, but the reason why I got away from scout team player of the week, and really, player of the week, for our team is, I know I said this previously, it was just, continue to promote team. Like team glory, right? And it’s hard to just justify choosing one person that represents the player of the game or player of the week.

“So, I’ve been really pleased with our scout team.”