Everything Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said in Week 7 (Stanford) press conference

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman addressed local reporters Monday afternoon. The Irish are getting set to take on Stanford at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in South Bend.

Here’s everything Freeman had to say.

Opening statement

“We last met after the Louisville game. So, since then, just recapping that game. It’s a big win for our program. Really proud of the way the coaches and the players handled the highs and lows of what a college football game tends to present. We’ve really looked at and evaluated and said, ‘How do we eliminate the lows?’ Like, that’s the challenge. When I think of lows, the turnovers, negative yardage plays on offense. 

“Defensively, continue to eliminate some of the big plays and stopping the run and we really attacked a lot of those issues during the bye week. And I always tell our coaches and our players we have to have a process to eliminating and fixing issues. And number one, we’ve got to own it. Then we have to come put together a plan to attack it and really attack it to fix it in practice. We have to continue to enhance the things we did well in that game and have done well in the season. We won the battle of field position by seven yards and won the turnover margin. And when you face a good opponent, those two factors are critical to having success. But it was a really good team win, and a lot of positives from all three phases. 

“Players of the game was Jeremiyah Love on offense and defensively, was Xavier Watts and on special teams, it was Max Hurleman and the scout players a week were Justin Fisher on offense, Isaiah Dunn on defense and Teddy Rezac on special teams. Our focus for the bye week was No. 1, we had to improve. We have to improve as a team, and that’s improving our fundamentals to improve at the tactical execution of what we’re doing and improve on some of the unforced errors that we’ve committed during the game. 

“The second thing I want to do is make sure we prepare for upcoming opponents. Offensively, we continued to prepare for Stanford. Defensively, we prepared for Stanford and also took a minute to work on some triple-option stuff, as we know we have Navy in a couple of weeks and Army following that, and we had to recover. Our guys were banged up, and we had to be smart in terms of how we prepared and improve, but also actually recover at the same time. 

“So, a couple injury updates. Boubacar Traore will be out for the year with a torn left ACL. Questionable for the upcoming game is Cooper Flanagan with a foot, Gabriel Rubio with his foot. He’s feeling good, but his role is still to be determined, so he’s questionable for this game. And then Billy Schrauth with his foot is still questionable for this game. Probable, expected to play would be Jordan Faison and his ankle, Josh Burnham and Christian Gray, A couple other updates: Sam Pendleton will be full go. He ended up having a concussion late in the game versus Louisville, but he’s back and expected to go. 

“Ashton Craig had surgery on Friday with Dr. [Brian] Ratigan to repair his ACL. Brauntae Johnson is in the return-to-participation phase but still a few weeks away to being able to help our team. Then CJ Carr, he was injured in practice a couple of weeks ago and has just some elbow soreness, so really just trying to focus on some other areas of improvement for him as he goes through rehab. Other than that, no other injuries.

“Just turning the page of Stanford, a rivalry game, playing for the Legends Trophy. It’s an important rivalry for our program. Obviously, two years ago, they came in here and they beat us, and last year, in the second quarter, we were down, I think, 14 to 13, at one point. So, we really have to prepare. It’s a team that has some injuries… That offensively is so multiple in what they’ve done, and what they’ve shown on film, and then defensively, really pride themselves on stopping the run, is going to force you to try to take some shots. So, another challenging opponent to prepare for and a rivalry game that we’re only looking forward to playing in Notre Dame Stadium. So with that, open up for questions.”

On whether the volume of injuries reflects the Notre Dame strength and conditioning program

“Yeah, I think that’s something we always evaluate. Is there something different that we could have done or should be doing moving forward? I think as you look at the ACLs, you had a couple that were non-contact. And with Jordan Botelho, who wasn’t an ACL, it was a patella, but his was non-contact. Ashton Craig was contact. 

“And so again, I think you’ve always got to try to look for cause and effect, but you also can’t make something up, right? And so our sports performance team is a team that I have so much confidence in terms of the way we prepare, the way we get our athletes ready to go. This is just a part of the game, and injuries happen, but you always look for ways to prevent injuries, but you also have to make sure you’re prepared. So, there is no perfect formula, but I’ll tell you every day, every week that we meet, we always look for a way to improve.”

On if Burnham will play both defensive end positions and other options at vyper

“Josh is a guy that could play either field end or vyper for us. RJ Oben and Bryce Young, obviously, have done a good job at the field end position, and Junior has done a really good job stepping up at the Vyper position, as well as Loghan Thomas getting some reps. And so you have five quality individuals that can play the end position for us. And we’ve got to have guys step up, just like Junior has done. And I’m confident that if something would happen again that we’ll have to have another guy step up.”

On why Notre Dame has done well after bye weeks under Freeman

“There is no magic formula, but I think every bye week is different, right? Where it occurs in your season, what injuries you have going on, your upcoming opponent? There’s a lot of different things that you have to focus on during that specific bye week. We have another bye week after three weeks coming up, and what we do during that bye week, although probably the overall focus will be similar, the details of what we do during that week will change, just being where it’s at in the season and the upcoming opponent after that. 

“So, I think, most importantly, it’s to evaluate your team at this certain period that you get the bye week. You can’t just say, ‘Hey, this what we did last year. Let’s just throw it right here in this window and do it this year.'”

On what he saw from Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard during the bye week

“I thought he did a really good job of decision-making. Two weeks ago, I said we have to continue to focus on our move-to-pocket throws, which I thought he did a better job at. Again, I have a lot of confidence in Riley. Nobody plays perfect, but I thought he did a really good job in terms of his preparation, in terms of his execution in the game and we’re going to continue to build on that. It’s again, it’s let’s do things that your players do well, and he did a great job versus Louisville. We look forward to continuing to improve as we move forward.”

On Notre Dame’s third-down inconsistency on offense

“As you look at the second half of Louisville game, we played a lot of that game behind the sticks, and that could be because of a couple of penalties. That could be because of, ‘Hey, we didn’t gain yardage on first down. Why? Let’s figure out why.’ But most importantly, we got to put our offense in a position that it’s a more manageable third down, instead of the third and long and extra-long down and distance that we don’t convert well.”

On Stanford head coach Troy Taylor’s offense

“I have a lot of respect for him as an offensive play caller. As you look back at last year when we played them, we knew they were a unique offense in terms of what they did. You’ll see a lot of stress put on a defense based off motions, shifts, formations and they did some unique things in last year’s game where they gave us some extra wide splits. I think he’s a creative offensive mind. 

“They utilize different personnel. They have some injuries, so we’re not 100 percent sure what we’ll see. They probably were a majority 11-personnel team as you go into the first couple games of the year, but they had some injuries. Will we see more 12? Will we see 13? Not 100 percent sure, but he’s a creative playcaller that will put a lot of stress on our defense.” 

On Notre Dame left tackle Anthonie Knapp’s development

“I feel like he’s just gotten better. It’s common sense. You’re going to get better over time. You’re going to get better through experience. What he’s done is constantly improve from week one to week five. There’s a lot of confidence we have in Anthonie Knapp, but he is continuously improving as an offensive lineman. 

“Tosh Baker’s been great. With a shoulder injury, probably at some point, could have said, “Look, I need to get my shoulder fixed. I’m hanging it up this year.’ He put his team first and he’s given us everything he’s got in his body. He’s ready to go if we need him to go in there and play for us. I love Tosh. He’s a team glory guy. He puts the team before himself. He’s a special individual and a senior to have on your team.

“Guerby Lambert is continuously improving. He got here in the summer. He has a lot of talent. There’s always a lot to learn as a freshman, but he’s progressing. He’s very smart and very athletic. He’s going to be a great football player for this year when the time presents itself.”

On if anyone is cross-training at vyper

“No. Burnham is a guy we know who can play both. We feel RJ and Bryce are true field ends for us and then Junior and Loghan are true vypers for what we need them to do. Burnham, right now, would be the only one who would cross-train. Again, if there’s injuries that could happen, you have to have a Plan B and Plan C. And we do have that ready to go if something unforeseen happens.” 

On if Notre Dame has thought about dialing back designed runs for Leonard

“He’s a threat with the ball in his hands. He gives our offense a chance to have success running the ball. We have to utilize his legs. We have to utilize his ability to run the ball, but also understand you don’t want your quarterback getting hurt. He wants the ball in his hands. He’s a competitor. We’ll continue to utilize him in the run game where we feel necessary.” 

On running back Jadarian Price responding from his fumble against Louisville

“We have a lot of confidence that he’ll respond the right way. Coach [Deland] McCullough and our program have standards for the running back room and holding onto the ball — similar with what happened with Audric [Estimé] last year when we played Navy. Jadarian Price would be the first one to come up here to tell you the standard of that room is to always hand the ball to the official. There’s so much confidence we have in him as a running back and giving him the ball. He’s going to do great things this week and future weeks moving ahead.” 

On where Notre Dame needs to improve

“As an entire program, what we can’t do is hurt Notre Dame. We have to eliminate some of the unforced errors. We have to eliminate penalties. We have to make sure our ball security – there is no excuse, the weather, anything. We have to make sure we hand the ball to the official, and there is without certainty we have the ball in our possession. Those are things we want to clean up. 

“We have to continue to tackle better. That’s something we’re always going to try to do. We have to be crisp in our run fits and there are ways you can attack that in practice. Overall, the execution is important. Great teams don’t beat themselves and we have to make sure we’re not doing that either.”

On walk-on running back Justin Fisher’s role, following two scout team player of the week honors

“He’s playing some special teams for us. He’s been out on a couple kickoffs and done some KOR (Kickoff return). He’s a valuable member of our program to have success. I want everyone in our program to understand although your roles might be different, the value of you executing your role is so crucial for us to reach our full poetnail. Justin Fisher is a great example. What he provides for the defense in terms of his effort, execution as a scout team running back, but what he does on game day, being a special teams member, it’s crucial that he gets his job done in practice and in the game for us to have success. He’s a great example of your role doesn’t define your value. His value is tremendous for us to have success.” 

On walk-ons like Fisher and Max Hurleman, and the process with which Notre Dame finds them

“It’s so important. The walk-on process, our personnel department led by Chad Bowden, is in charge of finding those guys who can help our football team win and fit this place. Max Hurleman and Justin Fisher are crucial in terms of helping us win games. Max has been great. It happened with Jordan Faison two years ago. Max has been an amazing addition to our program. He fits this place, but he’s also a really good football player who came in here with the right mindset and has earned everything he’s gotten. He’s built a lot of trust in the coaching staff. He’s been our starting punt return last week, making big plays on kickoff. All those things matter for us to have success. 

“We’ll see what happens with college sports and roster limits as we move forward, but the walk-ons at Notre Dame, WOPU Nation as they call themselves, have been so crucial for the success of Notre Dame football. It’s something I hope we don’t lose because it’s invaluable to our success.”

On the importance of the bye week for Mitchell Evans as he tries to get back to full strength

“It takes time, right? I mean, the more time that he has to get his self to his full potential is crucial. And so this bye week, I think, was crucial for him in terms of continue to develop in the recovery as he still comes back from the ACL of last year. But we have a lot of confidence in Mitch. There’s a lot of times that he’s been open that maybe the play call didn’t mandate that we throw him the ball. He’s really working on his routes but also working on blocking and is committed to being the best that he can be. And I have a lot of confidence in Mitch Evans.”

On freshman vyper Loghan Thomas being ready to play for Notre Dame despite missing spring ball

“I  think it starts off with his development in high school. Played at a great high school football program where he was challenged to be a really dominant football player in high school and he came in here and had an injury, but was committed to learning the playbook, committed to rehabbing and putting his body to be in a position where he can play college football. He’s going to get bigger and stronger and faster as we continue to move forward.

“But it’s his commitment to being the best player he can be that’s giving him a chance to play. And I’ve said this before, but what prevents guys from high school playing early in college is just the ability to play fast. And he’s a guy that it hasn’t taken him long to play fast, because I think the development started in high school where he had to learn a college-type defense. So he’s been a guy that’s just gotten better and now we’re seeing more and more on the football field.”

On what freshman cornerback Leonard Moore showed on film against Louisville

“We had a lot of confidence in Leonard. He earned that in practice, in fall camp with his length and speed and just a natural ability to play the corner position. He got his opportunity on Saturday with Christian being out, he continues to gain trust from his coaches because he does it practice and went out and did it in a game versus some really good wide outs. Leonard’s got an extremely high ceiling, a bright future. This is just the start of what’s going to be a special football player for our football program.”

On graduate student nickel back Jordan Clark’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, in retaliation for a Louisville player allegedly spitting on him

“You got to put team glory in front of yourself. And Jordan Clark would be the first one to tell you that’s tough.  Sometimes people test your manhood. But you still have to be able to put team before me. I know we’ve had a long conversation. He regrets the penalty. He regrets his response. Nobody’s worth 15 yards. And it’s such a challenging situation to have to do that. We’re all innately selfish people. I think we’re all naturally that way. But in that moment, in those moments in every game, you have to put your team before yourself and you have to let things go.

“And that was my message to the entire team and to Jordan. As you move forward in life, there’s gonna be times this is bigger than the game of football, you’re gonna have to let some things go because of what could happen in that situation. I mean, it’s not the outcome that you want. So I thought it was a great teaching opportunity for a guy who cares about the team. He does. Just a selfish moment. He knows that. We love him. As I said before, he owned it but we gotta continue to learn from it.

“But he has to understand that football is just a reflection of life. That at times you’re gonna have to let some things go, put maybe the greater good of your family, your kids, you wife, in front of yourself. Because what you don’t want to do is make a decision that’s going to be negatively impact a lot of people.”

On home game days

“There’s certain things that you have to do as the head coach of this football program on home games that are different than what you have to do on away games. But you can’t cheat that.  You can’t cheat meeting with recruits because that’s the future of your program. You can’t cheat going to mass, that’s really important. 

“You have to talk to the officials and some other things that you have to do. But I’m intentional about making sure that my mind is in the place that it needs to be before I take that field. Just like we need every person locked in, before you take the field to make sure you’re centered, make sure your focus is narrowed and you’re ready to really go out and execute your job and your role, no matter what it is. So I’m intentional about making sure my mind is where it needs to be before we take that field.”