Live updates: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman Week 5 press conference

This is the first time in Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman‘s tenure his Fighting Irish are 3-1 through four games. They were 2-2 in 2022 and 4-0 in 2023.

The Irish dropped to 4-1 last year with a loss to Ohio State. They’d love to improve to 4-1 this year with a win over Louisville.

Freeman speaks to the media about Notre Dame’s home game against the No. 15 Cardinals (3-0) at 12:30 p.m. ET. Watch live via the YouTube video player below and/or follow along with real-time, written updates from Blue & Gold at the bottom of the page.

WATCH: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman Week 5 press conference

What Freeman is saying

Keep refreshing this page for up-to-the-minute updates of what Freeman is saying.

• Freeman says Notre Dame didn’t start great offensively but responded to that lackluster start and driving the ball and getting into the end zone. “Really good job picking up momentum after the first couple drives.”

• Freeman says the Notre Dame defense gave up some chunk runs that can’t happen. Also says the Riley Leonard fumble cannot happen.

• Freeman says cornerback Jaden Mickey will redshirt this season with the intent of entering the transfer portal at the end of the year.

• Notre Dame players of the game vs. Miami (Ohio)…
-Riley Leonard (offense)
-Boubacar Traore (defense)
-Bryce Young (special teams)

• Freeman says he’s trying to get Riley Leonard to stay locked in and not listen to outside noise that can make him lose love for what he’s doing.

• Freeman says Louisville is physical and is going stop the run as the thing it wants to hang its hat on. That’s exactly what the Cardinals did to the Irish last year.

• Freeman says he will remind Notre Dame players about what happened last year against Louisville (33-20 loss that wasn’t as close as the score suggests) as a therapy session of sorts. “Sometimes you have to revisit those dark places to get out of it what you need to.”

• Freeman says he is confident in the depth of the Notre Dame cornerback room without Mickey being in the fold.

• Freeman says the performance he sees is what gives him a lot of confidence in Leonard. He says Notre Dame had its best passing game of the season against Miami (Ohio) despite missing “some layups.”

• Freeman says if you told him before the Miami (Ohio) game that Leonard would throw for 150 and run for 150 and account for three touchdowns, he’d have taken that.

• Freeman says Louisville’s Ashton Gillotte is someone Notre Dame has to account for on the field every play he’s out there. Game-wrecker type.

• Freeman says he’ll meet with Notre Dame’s team captains this afternoon about whether or not the Irish will wear green jerseys against Louisville on Saturday.

• Freeman says a big emphasis in meeting with Notre Dame wide receivers coach Mike Brown lately has been getting the Irish wideouts to win 50/50 balls.

• Freeman says Eli Raridon is constantly improving. “I see a tremendous amount of growth since Week 1.” A lot on Raridon’s shoulders with Cooper Flanagan being out this weekend.

• Freeman seemed surprised to be alerted Aamil Wagner was not credited with a touchdown for recovering Jeremiyah Love’s end zone fumble. “That play does not go unnoticed… There might have been some guys that don’t play through the whistle like he did.”

• Freeman was very pleased with Riley Leonard giving his wideouts chances on balls that didn’t show up in the stat sheet. Plenty of pass interferences went Notre Dame’s way because of Leonard’s arm.

• Freeman on Leonard’s running ability: “When you’re that big and strong and fast, it’s a challenge to bring you down.”

• Freeman says Mitchell Evans is as good health-wise as Notre Dame expects him to be.

• Freeman says his dad texted him about how angry he got mid-game at Adon Shuler for the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It was the same kind of tough love as there was at the Freemans back in the day. “We have a rule around here to hand the ball to the official. He didn’t do that.”

• Freeman on Jaden Mickey choosing to sit out and enter the transfer portal: “Jaden Mickey made a decision that he felt was best for him. For me to do anything other than support him would be selfish… I wish him the best of luck. I love him.”