Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman Orange Bowl press conference live updates (Jan. 4)

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman speaks to the media Saturday morning at 11 a.m. ET to recap the Fighting Irish’s 23-10 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and to preview his team’s upcoming matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Watch the press conference via the YouTube video player below. Follow along with what Freeman is saying via real-time, written updates from Blue & Gold at the bottom of this page.

WATCH: Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman Orange Bowl press conference (Jan. 4)

What Freeman is saying

**Keep refreshing this page for real-time, written updates of what Freeman is saying.**

• Freeman starts by thanking the Sugar Bowl and the city of New Orleans. “It was a great moment for our entire program.”

• Tight end Cooper Flanagan is out for the season with a foot injury.

• Freeman makes sure to make it known Kirby Smart and Georgia are the class of college football in the last half decade. He respects the program Notre Dame just took down.

• Freeman says Tyler Warren and Abdul Carter, Penn State’s best players on either side of the ball, are as good as any in college football.

• Freeman said Notre Dame’s team captains didn’t celebrate the Sugar Bowl as much as he thought they would. They told him, “If we didn’t listen to this noise before now, why are we changing?”

• Freeman admits the noise is louder this week than it’s ever been. “But we talked all year about being misfits, and that’s what we need to continue to be.”

• Freeman says the Sugar Bowl confirmed what he’s learned about Riley Leonard. “He is an ultra competitive individual who finds ways to get the job done. It’s never perfect, but in the most crucial moments he finds a way.”

• Freeman says all freshman running back Aneyas Williams, Notre Dame’s RB3, has done this year is continue to earn trust.” You can put him in there at any moment.”

• Freeman speculates there were people in Junior Tuihalamaka’s ear telling him to redshirt and transfer. He stayed the course and is a playmaker for the Notre Dame defense. “The biggest games of the year, this dude is making game-changing plays.”

• Freeman was asked about potentially being the first Black head coach to ever coach in a national championship game. He said he understands he represents people in the Black community, including his kids. He tells them, “Don’t put a ceiling on what you can be.”

• Freeman says he’s followed Tony Dungy, Mike Tomlin and Todd Bowles as head coaches from the Black community. He says it’s deeper than that, though. “You don’t just follow them because of the color of their skin. You follow them because of their actions.”

• Freeman says the thing that stood out about Jordan Clark in recruiting him out of the transfer portal was his toughness. He’s also been a big locker room guy. “He’s made this program better, and I’m dang glad he’s a part of our defense.”

• Freeman says Notre Dame practiced the fourth down fire drill that caused Georgia to jump offsides to the point that the Fighting Irish were never going to get it wrong. That’s unbelievable coaching.

• Freeman says he knew passing yards weren’t going to beat Georgia and Georgia’s passing yards weren’t going to beat Notre Dame. The game was going to be won on the ground on both sides, and that’s how the Irish got it done.

• Freeman says despite everything that’s happened in the last few days, this feels like a normal game week for Notre Dame. Seven days between games. The Irish have been operating on this schedule all season.

• Freeman’s in-game mentality, no matter who Notre Dame is going against or at what point in the season: “I never want to take the foot off the gas. I don’t care if we’re up, if we’re down…Don’t survive this thing.”

• Freeman says the incoming freshmen enrollees have done a phenomenal job in the short time they’ve been at Notre Dame practices.