Live updates: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman pre-Louisville press conference
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is set to address reporters via Zoom at noon ET on Thursday. Among other things, Freeman should provide an update on whether sophomore linebacker Nolan Ziegler, who has not played this season as he works through a mental health-related issue, will be available for Week 6.
Freeman said Monday that Ziegler could “possibly” be back Saturday against Louisville.
Here are Blue & Gold’s live updates from Freeman’s press conference as Notre Dame prepares for the Cardinals. The game is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
**Keep refreshing this page for real-time, written updates from Freeman’s Zoom press conference.**
• Freeman confirmed what he said Monday: Jaden Greathouse, Jayden Thomas and Eli Raridon will all play this week.
• Notre Dame has seen the explosive plays from Louisville running back Jawhar Jordan, and Freeman stressed how important tackling will be against Jordan and Louisville’s secondary backs. “Our challenge is to make them become one-dimensional.”
• Freeman said Benjamin Morrison has “built tremendously off of his freshman year,” despite the interception numbers not being as high (for now). The second-year coach knows he has an “elite corner.”
• At Vyper, Junior Tuihalamaka and Joshua Burnham have done a good job in practice this week. Burnham will start, but they’ll split the reps 50-50 with Jordan Botelho out for the first half.
• Freeman said Notre Dame is constantly looking at ways to improve tackling technique, even if it’s not always full-speed to keep players fresh.
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• Sophomore linebacker Nolan Ziegler is on the travel roster and be at the Louisville game. Whether he actually gets in the game will be determined by the game situation, Freeman said, but “he’s ready to go if the opportunity presents itself.”
• Answering a question about graduate defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste’s increased reps, Freeman said he wants to strike a balance between giving Jean-Baptiste increased reps for playing well and not wanting to play the defensive linemen 60 or 70 snaps each game. He wants to make sure each individual player gets the rest they need to be effective.
• That will do it for Freeman’s press conference. Awesome news regarding Ziegler.
More from Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman
On Louisville:
“It doesn’t take long to watch film to see why they’re 5-0. It’s another night game, and it will be a great atmosphere and a great opportunity. They got an explosive offense an experienced quarterback. They have speed at the skill.
“And then defensively, I think they’re really sound. They have an edge rusher, I think number nine (Ashton Gillotte), that is going to be one of most elite pass rushers we see. And they got two corners that are physical and aggressive. So it’ll present a challenge for our program. And we got to have a great week of preparation and get ready to play for Saturday night.”
