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Live updates: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman pre-Wake Forest press conference

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•11/16/23•

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Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. (Matt Cashore, USA TODAY Sports)

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is set to address reporters via Zoom at noon ET on Thursday, in advance of Saturday afternoon’s game against Wake Forest. Among other things, we should get an update on whether graduate center Zeke Correll (concussion) can play in Week 12.

Here are Blue & Gold’s live updates from Freeman’s press conference as the Irish prepare for the Demon Deacons.

**Keep refreshing this page for real-time, written updates from Freeman’s Zoom press conference.**

What Freeman is saying

• Correll remains in concussion protocol and has not gone through contact in practice. He is questionable for Saturday’s game.

• Freeman said Notre Dame should be prepared for a lot of man coverage and a lot of press, but that the offensive staff should be prepared for the Demon Deacons to switch up their tendencies.

• When evaluating a play call that doesn’t work, Freeman said he looks at whether it’s a predictability issue or the players just can’t execute it. If either is a problem, Freeman said he and the staff will make a decision of whether they call that specific play again.

• Sam Hartman has brought a lot to Notre Dame’s program that fans might not see on Saturdays, and that Hartman has done a great job this year, Freeman said. “We’re very grateful for having Sam as a part of this team.”

• On JD Bertrand, Freeman said he’s set a standard for how to prepare. He was the third-string linebacker when Freeman became the Notre Dame defensive coordinator in 2021, and he went out of his way to meet with his new coach. “You never know when the opportunity would present itself, but JD Bertrand just put in the work. … JD just kept getting better and better.”

• On the search for a new strength coach (Fred Hale still has the interim tag), Freeman said he’ll kick tires on that after the season. Hale, as Freeman said in August, will be a candidate.

• Rocco Spindler’s injury was an MCL. He might not be 100 percent during spring ball, but he’s expected to practice by that time.

• The challenge with most of Notre Dame’s best healthy receivers being slot guys, Freeman said, is putting the best 11 players on the field. Sometimes that takes creativity in putting smaller guys on the outside and asking them to do what they’re good at, but that’s what separates good coaching. He’ll continue to recruit the best talent, though, and coordinate around that.

• That will do it for this week’s Zoom press conference.

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