Quick Hitters: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman explains why Marist Liufau claimed defensive MVP

For the second time this football season, Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman met with reporters in the Notre Dame Stadium press room for his weekly Monday news conference. Freeman recapped the team’s win against Navy last Saturday and previewed this Saturday’s matchup against Tennessee State.

Here are three things Freeman said Monday, including his evaluation of Marist Liufau, Notre Dame’s schedule since returning from Ireland and his relationship with Tennessee head coach Eddie George.

On his evaluation of Notre Dame LB Marist Liufau’s performance to name him defensive MVP:

“Man, Marist played with a physicality that I have not seen. Marist is a physical linebacker. He’s a really good player. But I went back and watched that film, and Marist was playing so physical and constantly did it. …

“Listen, I played linebacker. And there are certain plays, certain formations you can see and say, ‘Okay, I am going head to head. We got to go. And it’s not natural to really like enjoy that over and over and over. But you have to do it. And that’s what I saw.

“There were certain formations that Marist knew three guys in the backfield — okay, you’re just coming to lean on me — it’s me versus this dude. And the very first play of the game, if you go back and watch it, the dude got him a little bit — the Navy fullback. And they got the same formation four or five times, and Marist, every play, went and took them on.

“That’s what you love to see, a guy willing to sacrifice his body but also do your job. You can’t just be a physical player and not do your job, right? Marist did them both. He had a forced fumble.

“You can see, as you go back and I told Coach (Al Golden) this last night, you can see defensive guys truly being aware of the football, trying to get it out. We had zero turnovers. But that is not because there wasn’t awareness and a lack of effort to do it. And so credit to them. The turnovers and takeaways will come as long as we are constantly aware of where the ball is.”

On Notre Dame’s plan since returning to South Bend from Ireland:

“We could have put in a waiver to use (Sunday) as a practice day, but we decided not to. And we wanted to give them the day off. A lot of those guys did not sleep after the game. So, I think we got back to our hotel a little bit after 12:30 a.m. (Ireland time). And I think the first bus took off at 5:15 in the morning. The second bus was at 5:30 a.m., and the last bus was at 6.

“They probably thought they were gonna be able to sleep on the plane, but to sleep on a plane is not easy. So we decided to give them yesterday off — encourage them not just to sleep all day because we want to try to get their cycles back to where it needs to be and try to stay up. Try to go on a walk and do some different things when you get back. And so I know a lot of them got good sleep last night.

“But even me and our coaching staff, like you, don’t feel 100% probably until you get two nights. The same thing is when we went there. Like, when you’re changing time zones, it’s going to take two nights to really get adjusted.

“So we have to be smart about what we’re going to do today. We’re not going to do a whole bunch. We’re going to meet. And we’re going to watch the game. And we’re going to put it to rest. Then we’re going to start moving forward to Tennessee State and go out and have more of a jog-through instead of a practice on Monday.

“And as I looked at Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, the work is the work. The scout work’s the work but where I could tweak it in terms of maybe an individual period, taking off a couple of minutes of practice to really, ultimately, everything we do is to make sure Saturday they’re ready to peak and perform at 3:30 p.m. EDT. So that’s just the small changes we’ve made since they came back.”

On his relationship with Tennessee State head coach Eddie George:

“The chance to be across the field from Eddie George, I’m looking forward to that. I grew up obviously in Ohio and watched Eddie George play for Ohio State. I’ve gotten to know him throughout the years. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to go against him and his football team that is talented. …

“I think this is his third year. But the last time I saw him other than when they came here for the press conference was when I was actually in Nashville. I think I was going to meet with the Titans to do professional development. And Eddie was there. I got a chance to see him.

“There’s many games I’ve watched of Eddie George. I mean, he’s a great player. I don’t remember any distinct (memory). But to see him win the Heisman was a moment that I remember as a young person. We’ve met each other many times throughout my time at Ohio State. And so he’s always been a first-class individual, great family man.”