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WATCH: Lou Holtz addresses Notre Dame players, performs newspaper magic trick

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•08/17/22•

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(Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Marcus Freeman brought in some star power to address his Notre Dame players this week. Legendary coach Lou Holtz came in — and brought a fun trick with him.

Holtz, who coached at Notre Dame from 1986-96 and led the Fighting Irish to their last national title in 1988, brought a newspaper along with him. He shared a message about staying positive and committed to the task at hand, no matter what people say.

While he was talking, he ripped the paper into smaller and smaller pieces as he went along. But when he was done sharing his message, he shook it, putting the paper back together as he did so.

“If you really have a faith and belief in one another, in what you’re doing, people can tear you,” Holtz said. “They can say negative things. People can doubt you. But you can never doubt yourself.

“You must always believe that you are part of something special. That no matter what happens, people can’t tear you down. No matter what happens, you have the faith and belief … you’ll find a way.”

This isn’t the first time Holtz has met with members of the Notre Dame program in the last year. After Marcus Freeman took over as Fighting Irish head coach, he met with Holtz and posted about it on social media.

“Coach Holtz holds a special place in @NDFootball history,” Freeman tweeted in February. “I’m grateful for the chance to spend time with him!”

During his time in South Bend, Holtz totaled a 100-30-2 record and led the Fighting Irish to nine top-25 appearances during his 11 seasons with the team before his first retirement in 1996. He ended up coming out of retirement in 1999 to coach at South Carolina until 2004, when he stepped away from the sidelines for good.