Live updates: Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman pre-Purdue press conference
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is set to address reporters for the final time before Saturday game at Purdue. The Irish take on the Boilermakers at 3:30 p.m. ET in West Lafayette, Ind., and the game will be broadcast on NBC.
Here are Blue & Gold’s live updates from Freeman’s Thursday Zoom press conference, which begins at noon ET.
**Keep refreshing this page for real-time, written updates from Freeman’s Zoom press conference.**
What Freeman is saying
• Regarding the defensive end position, Freeman said Bryce Young will have opportunities to help Notre Dame on Saturday. RJ Oben, however, has had a good week of practice with Joshua Burnham questionable this week.
• On the quarterback situation: “Nobody’s roles have changed. Riley has had a really good week of practice. Has made some really good throws and done a really good job at decision-making, taking care of the football. Everybody else has done a great job too, but nobody’s been asked to do anything different.”
• Asked about his comments to NBC before last week’s game: “I don’t want my comments to be misconstrued to be me and Riley aren’t on the same page.”
As far as getting on the same page, Freeman said he, Mike Denbrock and Gino Guidugli have to be “very clear” about what they want out of the plays that are called, but they also have to give Leonard freedoms to make good decisions.
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• Freeman said CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey have rotated as the scout-team quarterback but also gotten reps with the offense. “CJ’s developing really well,” he said, and has done a good job with both the scout team and the offense.
• On what it would take to put in Steve Angeli: “I don’t know if there’s an exact parameter. We have to have success. We have to move the ball. We got to score points. … But there was no consideration of changing Riley that last game.”
• Jason Onye played some reps at defensive end last week, but that was a “big” personnel package. He’s a defensive tackle, and will remain that way unless they go to the “big” grouping again.
• Freeman has fond memories at Purdue, having coached there for several years.
• Handling success, Freeman said, is “completely different” from the mindset you have to have after a defeat. He used the words extremely driven, competitive, wanting to improve and embarrassed to describe his players’ mindset this week.
That will do it for Freeman’s zoom press conference.
