Live updates: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman Oct. 27 press conference
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman speaks for the final time before he takes his Fighting Irish (4-3) up to Syracuse (6-1) for a 12 p.m. ET Saturday matchup with the No. 16 Orange.
Follow along below for live updates of Freeman’s Thursday afternoon press conference.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman live press conference updates
• Freeman says the Notre Dame wide receivers have to continue to gain confidence in practices. Freeman says he spent a lot of time with this offense this week. He gained an appreciation for how hard it is to be successful on that side of the ball.
• Freeman says Syracuse tight end Oronde Gadsden is “a tough guy to defend.”
• Freeman says the key to limiting the Syracuse offense is not allowing big plays. He says the Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader is going to get his, but he cannot get loose with big plays.
• Freeman says he didn’t have much time to spend going over the NCAA’s updated NIL guidelines as it relates to what coaches can do with collectives, but he said anything that helps the Notre Dame student-athlete, he’s all for it.
• Freeman says Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner is still on pace to recover from his shoulder surgery within the original 4 to 5 month timeline. He has not been cleared for many physical things yet, but he has invested a lot on the mental side.
• Freeman says Jack Kiser, Jaden Mickey and Brandon Joseph are expected to play.
• Freeman says Joseph’s injury was “more of a contusion” and less to do with ligaments or structural damage. He played on punt returns in the second half last week but was not on the field in a defensive capacity.
• Freeman: “I don’t know if I ever take off my linebacker hat.” He says this in response to a question asking why it’s been so hard for guys like Prince Kollie and Jalen Sneed to get on the field in their early years with the program. He says it’s hard for players who go from a “see ball, get ball” system to get on the field in more sophisticated college defenses.
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• Freeman says Sneed “still has to gain some weight.” He says “he’s always been a thin-body style player … but he’s going to be a good player.”
• Freeman says Sneed is ready to play in a pinch. That’s why he’s traveling with the team. He was close to playing last week when Kollie and Kiser were banged up.
• Freeman says the Notre Dame linebacker corps is improving every week.
• Freeman says Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Mason is “a heck of a coach.” The Irish blocked two punts last week and are one of the highest-rated special teams programs in 2022 per various advanced metrics.
• Freeman says the line between what is targeting and what isn’t targeting “isn’t black and white.” He says it’s a hard thing to teach, but the coaching staff tries. He really preaches keeping the head up when entering the “strike zone.”
