Why Marcus Freeman brought the heat on Day 1 of Notre Dame football fall camp

Zeke Correll took his helmet off and slowly walked toward the sideline. The Notre Dame senior center was clearly in distress.

His shoulder pads and blue No. 52 jersey came off soon after the headgear. He sat down on a training table and slouched. Slumped. A Notre Dame staffer gave him a cup of fluids. You could see the sweat slipping down his face from across the field.

This wasn’t summer vacation anymore.

Correll was one of two starters along the Notre Dame offensive line who could not complete Friday’s practice, the first of a long, grueling fall camp slate leading up to the season opener at Ohio State on Sept. 3. The other was sophomore right tackle Blake Fisher.

Sure, it’s not easy to move so much weight around on a day in which humidity turned the fields outside the Irish Athletic Center into a suana. At one point, sixth-year right guard Josh Lugg was caught with a beat-red face staring into the abyss while waiting for an equipment staffer to fix his seemingly broken helmet. But head coach Marcus Freeman wasn’t going to make any excuses for Correll, Fisher, Lugg or anyone else who wasn’t competing at full capacity.

“It’s a great reminder,” Freeman said of the linemen leaving the field early. “Those guys have been busting their tails all summer to get in shape. All the sudden they get out there for the first practice and the heat, the sweat, the anxiety, the energy — it all just kicks up.”

Notre Dame fall camp practice No. 1 observations

• Offense

• Defense

Fisher bowed out before Correll. He made it through roughly half the practice. Without taking into account the weather conditions, you’d think he had injured his knee again the way he was hobbling around the field in between drills. When 11-on-11 end zone work took place, Fisher and Correll watched in their t-shirts, unable to put meaningful reps under their belts.

They need those.

Fisher has only played six quarters in his career because of the meniscus injury he suffered in the second quarter of last year’s season opener. Correll is attempting to be Notre Dame’s full-time starting center for the first time in his career. This isn’t a time to stand around and watch. It’s a time to play.

“That’s why I reminded them after practice it’s your job to be available,” Freeman said. “Do what you have to do from now until tomorrow when we’re back on the field. It’s up to you, and it’s up to each individual.”

Freeman was animated while reporters left the field at the end of the day. He conveyed his message in a much sterner tone to the Notre Dame players than he did the Notre Dame beat writers. He brought intensity from Day 1 of fall camp, to none’s surprise. The 36-year-old former linebacker has always been an energetic presence in practices, but there was still something different about Friday.

The first-time head coach knew where to be and what to say. That wasn’t always the case in the spring, his first time conducting practices as the man in charge. Freeman clearly looked more comfortable running the show. With that came an ability to crank up the intensity to a point in which premier players were going down with bouts of over exertion and/or heat exhaustion.

The length of practices for Notre Dame’s fall camp was drafted by coaches and assistants looking at GPS numbers from players’ workouts to determine the most precise threshold to get the most out of them without working them too little or working them too much.

There is literally a science to Freeman’s vision for the next month.

“We have to get to a position where our guys aren’t being pulled from practice,” Freeman said. “We have to condition our bodies. I’ve been around different places where you really start slow and build up and then the second and third weeks are the hardest, longest practices. Right now, we’re starting at ground zero. Long practices. Tough practices. We have to develop fast. We have to be ready to roll right out of the gate. It’s very intentional how we practice.”

Saturday isn’t going to be any easier than Friday. And probably just as hot. So go to bed early, drink your water and don’t eat too big of a breakfast. Ground zero is calling.

It’s not summer vacation anymore, after all.