Everything Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said in Week 14 (USC) press conference

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman addressed local reporters Monday for the final time before the Irish end their regular season against USC on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Here’s everything Freeman had to say.

Opening statement

“I had a little bit of time to reflect over the last 24-48 hours, just on the game on Saturday night. It was special. Saturday was a special night, not just because of the outcome but more so because of the honor it was to play against Army 100 years after the 1924 game in New York, obviously in this year’s Shamrock Series game in Yankee Stadium. Everything leading up to that game, the game, after the game, it reminds you that it wasn’t your typical Saturday night in college football. It was a special one, and a reminder of the privilege we all have to be part of this football program.

“Our guys performed well vs. a tough Army football team. I have the utmost respect for Coach [Jeff] Monken and the job he’s done there, and that football team we faced Saturday is a good one. As I usually say, there’s a lot of good. Plenty of things to learn from and get better and attack this week as we prepare to play for the Jeweled Shillelagh Trophy vs. USC. The players of the game were, on offense Jeremiyah Love, defense Adon Shuler and special teams Bryce Young. Scout players of the week on offense were Tyler Buchner, on defense Bodie Kahoun and special teams was Jerry Rullo.

“Couple injury updates: Howard Cross is still listed as questionable for this week. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa will be out with a knee sprain, and Bodie Kahoun will be out with a lower-leg injury. KK Smith is out with a collarbone injury. He had surgery and his recovery is about four to six weeks.

“Moving forward to USC, it’s a very competitive, talented football team, and this could truly be our biggest challenge to date, for multiple reasons — for the reasons of the noise and the things that outside of this game, that have nothing to do with this game. That’s gonna be a reason why it’s a challenge, but because of how good this team is in terms of in relation to its record. They have a 6-5 record. They’re 3-1 in the last four games. They have one loss at home, and it was the overtime loss to Penn State. They’ve led in the fourth quarter in every game this year. I think four to five losses, they were leading within three minutes of the end of the game. 

“It’s gonna be a challenge, vs. a really good team, and we have to prepare in a way that gives us an opportunity to get the outcome that we want. But our guys will and must understand the challenges ahead of us. So with that, I’ll open up for questions.”

On Junior Tuihalamaka moving from linebacker to vyper as a freshman and playing at a high level this season

“The reason we made that decision was because when I was the defensive coordinator, we majored in a 4-3, using three linebackers. When Coach Golden became the defensive coordinator, he tailored it more to a 4-2-5 when we played 11 personnel teams. We thought his talent and skillset fit better for us at the Vyper position. It took some time as everything does in life to continue to improve at the skills that it takes to play that position. He’s always had the talent but now he’s playing with clarity and playing fast and he’s understanding the details of playing that position, and he’s playing at a high level.”

On taking Riley Leonard and Jeremiyah Love out at the during the third quarter against Army

“I wasn’t thinking about USC or anything like that during the game. But the score was at a point where we felt like Army’s offense isn’t a tempo offense and it would take time for them to score points. So I thought it was at a point where we could win the game. And they’re a physical, physical football team. That’s probably the most physical football game we’ve played all season. So part of that came into my mind, ‘Hey, we’re at a point where we believe we’ve won this game. Let’s take Riley out, let’s take Jeremiyah Love out and get some guys some meaningful reps but also protect those guys. It was a physical, physical game and so all those things played into the decision to take them out.”

On the decisions Notre Dame had to make on the offensive line this season

“I always make decisions that I believe are best for the team and the program. Some of the decisions we made at offensive line were decisions we felt were best for the program. But they have to make the decision of being unselfish and putting team before me. That’s what I believe that offensive line room is a reflection of. They have to be one.

“I say it all the time: Our offensive line has to be one, no matter who those five guys are. They have to work together. You had guys that started previously that weren’t starting to start the season. You had guys that start fall camp that weren’t starting to start the season. You had guys that were backups that now were starting to start the season. For that group to maximize its potential, they have to be one. They have to put team before me. I think that’s what you’ve seen that group do.”

On Notre Dame’s schedule for traveling to Los Angeles this week, and if the 3:30 p.m. ET start altered that schedule

“It did a little bit in terms of later in the week, what time we’re leaving, what time bedcheck is, and then what time we’re waking them up, having a 3:30 game — 12:30 out there. But the schedule for the week has been created months ago in terms of knowing that Wednesday we don’t have school, so we’ve got to maximize the opportunities that we have on that day to get the most out of it.

“And then Thursday, being Thanksgiving, we have to work and be prepared, but we also want to be able to give players and some coaches and staff the ability to have Thanksgiving. So, we’ll practice in the morning and we’ll have a Thanksgiving meal together. And then in the afternoon and evening, the players have a chance to get away as do the coaches.” 

Reporter: And you would be leaving on Friday, then?

“Yeah. Last year, we left on Friday. We changed from leaving on Thursday last year.”

On Mitch Jeter’s kicking struggles

“Mitch Jeter has always been our best option. This week, he hit that ball better than he’s been able to hit in a long time. The one he missed, I had a lot, maybe more confidence after he hit the ball — and it ended up going right. But he hit that ball really well, and that was from a yard line that we weren’t previously able to do. We didn’t feel comfortable with his injury from that far. But to see him hit that ball, there was a lot of encouragement for me. I know he missed it, but there’s a lot of encouragement that I felt after seeing him hit that ball and the competence he had.

“The second one was not a Mitch Jeter error. That was a field goal-protection error that we have to get fixed immediately, with urgency, and we’re attacking it. But the second one was not on Mitch Jeter one bit. And I’ve got the utmost confidence in Mitch Jeter every single opportunity we have to kick a field goal. It’s just that line. Where’s that line that we ask him to go out there and kick it [from]?”

On Notre Dame’s coaches being unable to stay on the west coast and recruit this year due to the dead period beginning next Monday

“It will give the coaches a chance to, one we’ll get back and evaluate the game and look at ways to improve. Give coaches the chance to have some meetings with their players, right. We don’t get enough intentional time to meet with our players so it gives us a chance to meet with our players and give our players a chance to really study and get into school. There’s still physical work that we’ll do next week but obviously you don’t know what you’re planning for yet at that moment.”

On if it would benefit Notre Dame to end the regular season at home in the future

“I haven’t thought about that. I really haven’t. I have not thought about having a home game the last game of the year. If I have a strong conviction at some point that that’s what’s best for our program, I’ll have a conversation with Pete [Bevacqua]. Right now, that’s just not something on the top of my mind that I’m worried about. I think the way the season’s scheduled, it’s scheduled. The opportunity to go play USC at USC for a rivalry game is, shoot, it’s exciting. That’s what we’re looking forward to.”

On giving his team a pregame message to be “violent” against Army, and if the coaches’ pregame messaging made a difference when he was a player

“Yeah it does. What Coach [Jim] Tressel said before the game made a difference. I want to go on record saying that. 

“You could take out the word violence and say physicality, you could say speed, you could say velocity. I chose to use the word violence, but that’s the mindset I wanted this group to have. And the reason why I said that is because when you play against a triple option team, especially defensively, it can tend to make you play cautious. We have to be perfect. Stop the dive, stop the quarterback, stop the pitch. That’s not what this offense wanted to do. This offense wants to just pound you vertically. They want to attack.

“We had to have that attacking mindset. Offenisvely, I wanted the same thing. I know we they had the top something run defense in the country.. I wanted to attack them. I wanted to have a mindset that we’re going to have to go after them and not worry about our athleticism, not worry about the talent we have. I wanted to physically go at them. And that’s the mindset I had and that’s what I thought we needed to have success in that game. And our guys did a great job with playing with speed, velocity, physicality and violence.”

On when he began to feel like he had Notre Dame’s coaching staff right

“I think with every hire that I’ve made, I try to be intentional about who we hire. And there’s also an understanding of, you know somebody through consistency. That’s what I’ve learned over my time as a head coach. It’s probably the greatest thing I learned is the hiring process. And there’s a lot of people that can do a great job in an interview. And I’m a type of person that, you know, until you burn me, I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt.

“I think what I’ve learned throughout this process is if you have a chance to hire somebody you know is a good coach, how do you know? You know because I’ve seen it consistently. I use this in football but I also use this in people. I mean, everybody has good and bad days, but who you really are is who you are consistently. And when I had the ability to hire some of these guys that I worked with before or coach Joe Rudolph, who I saw as a player. I knew who Joe Rudolph was because I watched him every day as a player. And that’s who he was consistently.

“I knew Mike Denbrock because we worked together. I knew Mike Brown because we worked together. So when I made some of these recent hires I knew who they were. I don’t care where you coached at, I knew they were great coaches. I knew over time we were all going to be able to jell together. Listen, we wouldn’t be in this position if we didn’t have great coaches. We have a tremendous coaching staff that are pouring into our players and the players are pouring into them. And that’s what it’s all about.”

On if he’s concerned that USC has played in eight one-score games and Notre Dame has played in zero since Week 5

“Not at all. Our guys will understand the challenge that we have ahead of us. You don’t have to play in close games to feel the pressure of performing on this play, and that’s why we coach the way we coach. There has to be pressure to execute on this play.

“Close games are won by executing on that play when it matters the most. And so we try to create that type of mindset in practice and in a game. No matter what the score is, no matter who’s in there, you have to get your job done on that play.”

On if there’s value and motivation in realizing that Notre Dame controls its destiny this week

“They know that. We know that. I know that. That’s reality, but all I continue is to remind myself and them, it’s human nature. Every person in this room, every person watching this, we all tend to drift into the future. We all tend to daydream about a future that is uncertain. So, I always challenge them: It’s a thought after the thought. If you start thinking about things other than right now, remind yourself to get back into the moment and take care of what you have guaranteed right in front of you, and that’s right now. And so is the noise louder. If you let it be. If you let it be, right. 

“We control the volume of the noise, right? In terms of what we read, what we listen to, who we talk to. We control that. We control what things go into our head. So, it’s a choice we all have to make, is to turn down the noise. The noise is loud, sure. I mean, shoot, I’m sure I can get on social media and it can be a lot louder, but we, I control the volume of the noise that goes into my head.”

On what, if anything, Notre Dame is doing differently this week to ignore the outside noise

“To just continuously remind them of the challenge we have ahead of us on Saturday. That’s what’s going to control the noise. If you don’t understand how good this opponent is, if you don’t understand how much of a challenge this opponent will bring on Saturday, then the fault lies within yourself. That’s what I’m going to continue to remind our guys. Yes, the things we’ve done in the past that have given us an opportunity to be in this moment where if we win, we’re in. That’s what they say. You win and you’re in.

“There’s things we’ve done intentionally to put our program in this position. So understanding the challenge we have ahead of us on Saturday and continue to put the work in today that gives us a chance to get the outcome we want on Saturday.” 

On his biggest takeaway from coaching Riley Leonard from Week 2 until now

“He is a special person. He is an unbelievable human being. As a father, I would want somebody to describe my children the way I view Riley Leonard. He’s a great person. As a football player, he’s done nothing but continuously grow, improve and get better. 

“He came in here with high expectations. We won week one and probably masked some of the mistakes we made. You’re on top of the world in week one, and you’re at the lowest of lows in week two, but you realize a lot about a person’s character when they’re down. Riley was a competitor. He’s a fighter. He didn’t feel bad for himself. He didn’t want pity. He wanted to work.

“That’s what I’ve learned about Riley Leonard. I learned the most about him after week two when we were down. Anybody can be up when you’re having success, but he continued to work and now he understands he determines how good he can be. He continues to put the work in. He’s playing at a high level and he hasn’t changed as a person one bit. He’s a great human being.”

On Notre Dame’s mindset of being ‘greedy’

“At times, you can be so outcome-driven, right? You’re desperate to win a game, right? You just want to win. You want to win. Sometimes after you win, there’s so much more. You shouldn’t be outcome-driven, you shouldn’t be, but I want to win every freaking play. Every play. And this was probably one of the most complete games we really have played, and I still, I just lose sleep thinking about not scoring when we had the ball inside the five, getting a field goal blocked, having three penalties on defense, on a scoring drive. There’s still meat on the bone, right?

“That’s the mindset of being greedy. Don’t ever be satisfied. If you win, it’s easy to be satisfied. Everybody will tell you you’re doing a good job, but if you’re honest with yourself, there’s so much more.”

On the issues that popped up in the low red zone against Army

“Yeah, [Army was] aggressive down there. They were more aggressive off the edges than we previously saw. We felt like we had a great run game plan inside the red zone and goal line, and they did a couple different things that challenged our group. I’m confident we made the corrections on the sideline — I know we did — but we never had an opportunity to put the ball inside the 5 and do that again. But we made the corrections necessary to adjust to what they were doing.”

On how changing quarterbacks from Miller Moss to Jayden Maiava has sparked USC’s offense in the past two games

“The schematics of the offense hans’t changed that much. He tends to make different decisions, maybe, than Moss did, and I’m not saying that’s good or bad. He makes really quick decisions and then doing some things where he’s extending plays with his legs. He has a really good arm and hasn’t put them in many negative situations. 

“He’s come in these last two games and won them for ‘em; they’re playing well on offense. But the offense hasn’t changed, he’s just done a really good job of taking care of the football and making some good decisions.”

On what he’s seen from Jack Kiser and the young Notre Dame linebackers

“I challenged Jack, ‘You have to make them better. You have to stop making all the calls and stop being this leader that does everything right.’ Now you have to be a teacher. Teachers are evaluated on their students: how are these guys improving? 

“I’ve seen Jack’s intentional actions of making some other guys make calls. Studying the way he studies the game. Getting the rest and taking care of your body the way Jack does. And I’m really seeing improvement in terms of how they’re practicing. Jaylen Sneed specifically has been practicing on a level that I haven’t seen in my years with him, and a lot of that has to do with Jack being a great example, but Max Bullough has been such a great leader for that group.

“Your group is a reflection of its leadership and I think Max has been tremendous in terms of developing and improvement. But they’re practicing — specifically Sneed — at a level I haven’t seen in a long time.”

On USC being a tough place for Notre Dame to win

“I remember as a player there, played there in 2008, and it was rocking, man. Celebrities. The crowd. It was big-time. The lights, man, it was the lights. And they beat us up pretty well. I think back to two years ago, I think we were on a five-game win streak, we had won five in a row. We had a lot of hopes, if we win this game, what bowl game we were going to. And they obviously crushed those hopes. Yeah, they were good. They had playmakers. They had a great team. They beat us.

“You guys hear me talk about ‘keep the pain.’ That’s one that sticks with me for a long time. It’s one I’m going to make sure the guys in this program understand because I don’t care if you were here or not, there are certain expectations when you’re in a relationship. And we’re all in a relationship together. The pain that I felt as the head coach leaving there in 2022, they’re all going to understand no matter if they were here or not. So, it’s a challenge.”

On why Notre Dame is running the ball extremely well

“It’s going really, really well. There are a lot of different guys that can carry the ball and do some good things. And it doesn’t happen unless your offensive line — we always say, ‘Bodies on bodies.’ And what you’re seeing when you watch film is a lot of bodies on bodies. Our bodies on their bodies. That’s probably something I should not say. That’s what we talk about in our meeting room — our colored jerseys on their colored jerseys. It’s something we talk about, and that’s what you see. You see our offensive line on defenders and creating holes and we got guys that can talk it all the way if there’s a gap.” 

On the roster being able to attack Army on both sides of the ball like it did

“I think I said this in spring, and I still believe this is the most talented roster I’ve had since i’ve been the head coach here. But, talent is one thing; performance is another. Production is another. We have a talented roster, talented roster; credit to Chad Bowden and the recruiting staff and our coaches. Our coaches have developed that talent to have a really good skill set right now.”

On the difference in Notre Dame’s roster between its last trip to USC (in 2022) and this one

“I actually was watching — I was getting a little water in the facility today, because I got it playing up in the facility. It was the fourth-and-1 play, we’re down 10-0. And I look at the huddle and I saw Big Joe Alt, Blake Fisher, I see Michael Mayer; I saw some dudes. I was like, ‘Man, those are some dudes.’ But, probably in that moment, you know, not much different than where we’re at today.

“I don’t know, I mean … I don’t want to say we didn’t have a good roster back then; we did. I just mentioned losing a first-rounder and second-rounders who are doing great in the NFL. Yes, we have good talent. I think we’ve recruited at a high level, but our guys are playing better. We’re playing better. I hope it’s a reflection of our coaches that are coaching and teaching and challenging the right way. There’s a lot of different things that go into playing better.

“I don’t want it to be, ‘Well, shoot, our roster is so much more talented than that roster was back then,’ because there was some dudes when I turned on that film a little bit ago.”