Marcus Freeman transcript: What Notre Dame HC said about Georgia, Rylie Mills injury

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman spoke to reporters Monday afternoon to preview the next round of the College Football Playoff. The No. 7 Irish will head to New Orleans to take on No. 2 Georgia at 8:45 p.m. ET on Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl.

Here’s everything Freeman had to say.

Opening statement

“Friday night was just a great win and a great environment. Again, I want to make sure to thank everybody who had a part in making that game day atmosphere special. As far as the game went, we knew a major key to victory would be we had to be able to run the ball versus a really good running defense and to be able to stop the run versus a really good rushing offense. And we were able to do that, which contributed to the success that we had on Friday. 

“Overall, there was some good, a lot of good, in all three phases and areas, as always, of improvement. So, we’ll evaluate it, get back to work and start to correct those issues with urgency. The players of the game on offense was Jordan Faison, defense was Xavier Watts and special teams was Jordan Faison, and then the scout players of the week on offense were Matt Jeffery on defense, Armel Mukam and special teams Jack Polian.

“A couple of injury updates, just for this week, Charles Jagusah will be available. Rocco Spindler is questionable. We’ll see how he progresses over the next couple of days. Kyngstonn [Viliamu-Asa] will be questionable. We anticipate him getting out to practice this week and trying to get to return to play. Bodie Kahoun and KK Smith are both questionable, and then Rylie Mills will be out for the remainder of the College Football Playoffs with a knee injury. 

“So, looking ahead to Georgia, as I told the team all week, last week, we had one guaranteed opportunity to earn one more. As we get ready for Georgia again, we’ll understand we have one guaranteed opportunity as a football program to try to go and earn another one. We’re excited, looking forward to playing in the All-State Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 versus a very good Georgia football team who’s 11-2 and the SEC Champions. So, we all know the challenge that lies ahead. So, preparation will be as critical as it is every week as you prepare for an opponent. So, with that, I’ll open up for questions.”

On changing up his messaging in a long season

“There’s got to be a consistency and sameness in approach to every game, and part of that is some of those values I believe in, and the only thing that matters is this game, right? One game, one life. That’s why I say some of those things. Choosing hard is a lifestyle. Choosing hard is a trait that it has to become who you are. Every week, there will be a part of the messaging that is specific for the upcoming opponent, but at the end of the day, there is a sameness in approach to the preparation for the upcoming opponent.”

On if he’s a better communicator now than when he became head coach at Notre Dame

“I’ve always said there’s no substitution for experience. I think in three years your messaging might be, it should, be better than it was in Year 1. But more than anything, it’s the process that you have to getting the results that you want is hopefully enhanced more than anything.”

On preparing for Georgia with a new starting quarterback in Gunner Stockton

“You evaluate, obviously, schematically, what they’ve done all season. Then you have a separate tape of what Stockton, the new quarterback, has done. I think we have 80-something plays of him playing quarterback. He can run their offense. He does some things a little bit differently. He can extend plays with his legs. He’s a good athlete. 

“The thing I probably notice more than anything, in watching those 80 plays, is he’s an ultra-competitive individual. You can just tell by the way he celebrates, by the way, he goes and finishes plays. He’s a competitor. I don’t see it being tremendously different than what they’ve done all season, but we’ll prepare for anything.”

On replacing Rylie Mills

“You can’t replace Rylie Mills. I mean, yes, the production, but the leadership, a captain, very similar to the things I said about Benjamin Morrison when he was out. You feel awful for him as a person, a guy that decided to come back, improve his draft stock, be a captain. 

“The value he provided this team is tremendous, and he’s done an excellent job as a football player and a leader, but you have to replace the production. You got to replace what he did for our defense in different ways, and so we have capable guys that will step up, that have stepped up all year, that we’re very confident in, and those guys will have a bigger role this week.”

On Notre Dame’s aggressive approach on special teams

“I’ve always had a mindset as an individual, as a coach, to be aggressive—even as a defensive coordinator, of being aggressive. As a head coach, I want to be aggressive. I want our program to be aggressive, but I also want to make sure that we’re doing things that are going to help us have success, too, right? 

“So, when I feel like I’m very confident and being aggressive in special teams because of the preparation, because of how we’ve gained planned in the execution of practice, I’m willing to call it, and so I think that’s a credit to the coordinators, to the coaches, to the players, for coming up with some schematic things that people would view as aggressive. But it still goes into, do you gain conviction in practice that it was going to work in the game.”

On devoting time and resources to developing creative plays on special teams

“Yeah, it’s an accumulation of a lot of things. But Tim, we’ve got to rep it. We’ve got to rep it until we can’t get it wrong and rep things versus different looks. That’s the one thing about aggression, especially as you look at some of the special teams’ fakes or reverses; you’re trying to figure out how a defensive player will react. 

“I’ve always been on the defensive side, but when you do some of these things on special teams, you got to try to anticipate a reaction out of somebody. And so that takes reps. It takes giving that unit some different looks and making sure you have answers for it.”

On the development of Notre Dame’s young linebackers

“Yeah, it was a talented group that was just inexperienced, like you said. What you’ve seen is them constantly improve through experience, through coaching. Coach [Max] Bullough has done an unbelievable job at developing that group. 

“A lot of times, what you see is a group is a reflection of and they always say they’re head coach, but the position coach and Max Bullough has done a wonderful job of having that group ready, rotating guys, and they’re all playing at a high level. Those guys are our physical, aggressive football players. They’re smart, really instinctive. They do a good job of preparing for the offense, and they’re playing really well for us.”

On Viliamu-Asa

“Mostly, he’s been rehabbing—rehabbing and obviously getting mental work in but hasn’t been able to practice. Now, we want to see the progression in the practice and then build that confidence. He [has to] build that confidence in himself, and also in his coaches, and the doctors that he can go out there and get his job done, which I think he will.”

On if Bullough spending time at Alabama and Freeman facing Georgia with Cincinnati help Notre Dame prepare

“There’s some similarities, I would say defensively — some philosophies that obviously I had then and I still have now. Our defense here is different than it was at Cincinnati. Again, I’m sure their offense is different now than it was in 2020. I haven’t gone back and looked at that game, but maybe I will now that you bring that up. 

“The other point to your question of Max Bullough being at Alabama. Probably not something we’re going to talk about much. What this Georgia program does is what Georgia does. We gotta continue to do what we do at Notre Dame really, really well and prepare. We’ll see what happens on game day.” 

On the Notre Dame field goal unit’s issues

“There’s a couple different things. The issue from Friday was not the issue from a couple weeks back. It was a low kick. Mitch [Jeter] — we just gotta get a little more height on that. Early in the season was more protection issues than the actual kick. Just mishit it a little bit low. He really did some good things. Mitch did some wonderful things in that game. Again, his confidence level is high and mine is in him too.” 

On preparing backups to take over for Mills

“You don’t prepare them in a week. They’ve been preparing every single day all season long. That’s why every rep you do in a practice matters and is evaluated. You don’t know when that rep is going to be thrust against Georgia. You have to prepare in a way in practice that you’re improving, but you’re ready if your number is called. We have a lot of guys who prepare that way and who will have a bigger role.

“Donnie [Hinish] has played at a high level. Gabe Rubio is playing at a high level and Howard [Cross] is obviously back. We’ll get whoever that fourth and fifth guy is ready to roll. They’ve been preparing for this moment all season. It’s not something that you just do right now.” 

On Notre Dame steadying the ship after previous injury losses and doing it again after losing Mills

“The same way you do it after you lose to Northern Illinois. You find out the most about your team and yourself as an individual in tough times and the lowest moments. What I learned about this program in its lowest moments is that they are resilient, and tough, they continue to battle, and they choose to find ways to elevate.

“That’s what’s going to happen now. You lose a captain and it’s tough. It’s a terrible loss, but this program knows what it has to do to continue to prepare and perform at a high level. That’s what you gotta do. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. I feel sorry for Rylie Mills because I love that guy and he’s a great person, a great player, but you don’t feel sorry for yourself. You own it and you say, ‘OK, how do we find ways to improve.’ That’s what we’re going to do.” 

On Jagusah’s role in his return from pectoral injury

“He really hasn’t been practicing much. This is going to be his first full week of practice. We’ll figure out his best position as we continue to game plan and move forward. There’s a consistency in that offensive line and they’ve been doing a really, really good job. At the end of the day, we’re going to do what’s best for Notre Dame, but there’s a lot of confidence we have in the guys who have been there and with Charles coming back.”

On balancing the portal and Sugar Bowl prep

“There’s times you have to wear different hats. Up until Friday was preparation for Indiana. Saturday, you kind of put on a different hat and say, ‘Hey, let’s look at a couple different portal situations.’ Now, we’re back to preparing for Georgia. 

“We try to eliminate as many distractions as we can for our current players and our program and what we’re trying to do. We also know the transfer portal is a part of college football right now. Our current guys have been great. They’re ready to prepare the right way and I haven’t heard anything about a guy trying to go to the portal right now.”

On Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love battling the flu vs. Indiana

“We didn’t do anything for him. That was all him. He is a tough individual who had some flu-like symptoms and did what it took for him to go out and perform. Katy showed me an interview; at least he kept his clothes on during pregame warmup, unlike some of those wideouts. He’s a competitor, man. There was nothing that was going to prevent Jeremiyah Love from playing on Friday. He played at a high level, too.” 

On being part of the College Football Playoff

“This is a first for me and really anybody in college football as you talk about a 12-team playoff. You almost prepared for this first round like it was maybe even a bowl game opportunity, but then you realize once the game was over, you gotta go back to preparation. That’s probably what I’ve noticed more than anything. 

“During the season, you know you have the next one. In the playoffs, you gotta prepare in a way that gives your program the best opportunity to win. Put everything on the table. If you’re able to get the outcome you want, you have to go right back to preparation. It’s been unique. You’re grateful to be part of this thing – to be a part of the last eight teams in the College Football Playoff.

“It speaks volumes about this football program, about our players, coaching staff and everybody involved and the work they put in. Continue to do that. Everybody knows it’s a big game coming up, but the approach, the preparation must continue to have some consistency in what we’ve done, but there’s gotta be a little bit of elevation. As I say, every single week, we have to do it a little bit better.” 

On if Notre Dame’s players are going home for Christmas

“Get away? Like go home? No. No. We’re going to celebrate Christmas together. I haven’t met with them yet, but we’ll meet today, it’s an honor, it’s a privilege to celebrate Christmas together with your football program, with your football family and to be practicing for a College Football Playoff game. There’s a lot of college football teams that would want to do that. We gotta make sure we understand that. Our guys do. None of those guys are thinking about going home – at least they won’t tell me if they are. We’re going to have Christmas together and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” 

On the wide receiver group being productive on Friday

“They made some big catches, 50-50 balls in tight windows. The catch Jaden Greathouse made was so impressive. The throw was impressive, but the catch was impressive that he made in between two defenders. That’s what the expectation is out of that room. They’ve continuously gotten better. They’re getting better like everybody on our team is doing. It’s really good to see them make those big contested catches in big moments because we’re going to need that as we move forward.”

On how much Faison’s Week 1 ankle injury affected his season

“Yeah, I think it delayed [it] — it’s often called delayed gratification, right? He plays lacrosse, and so he misses spring ball. Has a good training camp, and then he goes and he gets an ankle sprain versus A&M that kind of set him back for a couple weeks. And you’re starting to see him get back to being the Jordan Faison we know we can be. I mean, the guy is always in the right position. He’s always making the play. He’s a gamer, who’s also a great practice player, too. And it’s just good to see him perform at a high level right now when it matters the most.”

On the history of the 1981 Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia

“Ooh, you’re going to have to give me a little history. I’ve been preparing for Georgia without the history of the 1981 Sugar Bowl. … Herschel Walker beat Notre Dame? … I’m sorry I didn’t know that, but I know Herschel Walker was a great player. That’s what I can tell you about that. Is that the only time we played Georgia? No, I know we played in ‘17.”

On preparing for Butkus Award-winning linebacker Jalon Walker

“Yeah, he is one of the — if not the best — linebacker we’ll face all year. He’s a problem. He does some really good things in the run and the pass game. He’s physical. [He’ll] strike. Good instincts. He’s a really, really good football player. And you can’t run around linebackers. You’ve got to go in. You’ve got to attack. And, so he;ll be a great challenge for us. I think he’s a heck of a football player. Got a lot of respect for him.”

On freshman Notre Dame defensive end Bryce Young’s performance against Indiana

“He played really, really well. He’s played well all season. He’s a difference-maker. To be a true freshman and playing at the level he’s playing at, he’s got some great genetics. Make sure you give Mom a shoutout too. But he prepares the right way and is performing at a high level, and he’s a huge part of what we’re doing defensively. And we’re going to need another big game out of him as we get ready for Georgia.”

On what being a ‘misfit’ (as referenced on Here Come The Irish) means to Notre Dame’s program

“More than anything, it’s a version of, it’s a different way to say ‘choose hard.’ What you can’t do — I tell our program all the time — is, be normal, make the decisions that normal people make. Make the decisions that you naturally probably want to make. And I don’t think everybody wakes up every single day and says, ‘I want to choose hard.’ I don’t think everybody wakes up every day and says, ‘I can’t wait to go and just try to find a way to be the best version of me today in practice.’ I think that’s a decision you have to make.

“And what I say is that we learn those valuable lessons in our lowest moments. We learn what it took to have success or handle success and prepare the right way after we were humbled. Don’t lose that. And I call that the ‘misfit mentality.’ Like, don’t lose that misfit mentality.”

On backups stepping up as starters throughout Notre Dame’s season

“I think it’s a great reminder that the future is uncertain. So, you might not be a starter today or you might not be playing today, but the future is uncertain. Just continue to focus on improvement — individual improvement — and on Saturdays, continue to choose to put the team in front of yourself. And then, all of the sudden, you might be thrust into a meaningful situation with not even knowing or expecting it.

“I think that’s more important than anything, is that we all recognize that the future is uncertain. The guys that are playing now, there’s a lot of guys that are different than the guys that started the year off in fall camp and at Texas A&M. But we’re going to need everybody. And that’s so important, because you can’t wait till you need somebody to, all of the sudden, make them feel like they have value to the team. Those guys that maybe aren’t starting week 1, they know how much value they have to this football program. And your value isn’t determined by your role on this team.

“I think that’s just, to me, when you bring that up about guys that weren’t starting or weren’t playing early in the season that now are being called upon, it’s just a great reminder that: Don’t make a decision today that’s going to affect the rest of your career. Don’t make a decision today because of a temporary situation that’s going to impact your future forever. And so, just know that the future’s uncertain. Work as hard as you can to be the best version of you, and elevate, and let’s see what happens in the future.”

On what stood out about Leonard Moore when Notre Dame decided to offer him early

“When [DBs coach] Mike Mickens says ‘I want somebody,’ I’ve learned to trust Mike Mickens. And that’s through our time in Cincinnati, and our time here with Benjamin Morrison, our time here with Leonard Moore.

“He’s a great evaluator. He is a great evaluator. And it was no different with Leonard Moore. He said, ‘This is a guy, I believe, that can help us, and will be a great football player. Nobody knew how quickly he would develop, but I remember doing a home visit with Coach Mickens at his house, and spent some time with his mother and father, who are just some of the brightest individuals I’ve ever been around. And I think all those things help him develop into the football player he is today.

“He has God-given ability, athleticism, but he’s a very intelligent individual and a very competitive individual that I think helped expedite that process of where he’s at right now. And so, again, it’s a credit to coach Mick for standing on the table for Leonard Moore and his evaluation, but also credit to his upbringing and how he was raised.”

On asking Brian Johnson to speak to the team in June

“I haven’t talked to him too much as the season — I don’t talk too much to anybody as the season goes on, but I was introduced to Brian through General [Bryan] Fenton, who’s a Notre Dame grad. I don’t bring in many speakers to speak to our team, but he was a guy that we did bring in and,  basically [he said] become the best version of you, and different things that help you as an individual, have the right mindset each day. And so he came and spent some time with our players.

“But again, we’re always looking for ways to improve as an individual. The only thing I can control first is being the best version of me. I can’t worry about being the best head coach right now. I’ve got to be the best version of me, which is going to make me the best head coach I can be. It’s the same thing with our players and our coaches. Don’t worry about being the best at your position right now. You’ve got to be the best version of you, which is going to make you the best at your position. And so, just some different thoughts about that.”