Quick hitters: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman on Navy, Jaylen Sneed, the Irish’s edge

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman couldn’t help but smile Monday right around noon. Like the reporters sitting before him in the media room at Notre Dame Stadium, it was hard for him to believe he was already taking the stage for a game-week press conference.

“We were just riding over, and it’s gone pretty fast,” Freeman said. “I was thinking about last year doing these weekly press conferences, and time flies. But it’s a great reminder to enjoy this opportunity for all of us.”

That’s right. Football is back. More specifically, Notre Dame football is back.

The Fighting Irish and Navy Midshipmen open the 2023 season in the first game of the year played by anybody on Saturday at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Here are some updates from Freeman on various facets of his team before Notre Dame heads to Europe on Wednesday.

On Navy

“I’m looking forward to being able to meet coach [Brian] Newberry. He’s done a heck of a job as a defensive coordinator for Navy. Really respect what he’s done. They’ve been very good on defense. Now with this transition to being a head coach, I’m sure they will take after the head coach. I’m expecting to see a very aggressive, talented football team that plays extremely hard. They’ve shown that on film. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

On Notre Dame’s leadership

“I believe that’s what will be our edge, is our leadership. We have a lot of leaders. We have a lot of guys who are in leadership positions. The team did a great job, our coaching staff did a great job of really promoting leadership, helping to build leadership, putting them in positions to— all of our seniors spoke to the team at some point about some of the lessons they’ve learned over their time here and really trying to promote that amongst our program.

“I’m really pleased at the four captains that we announced and the team chose; Joe Alt, JD Bertrand, Cam Hart and Sam Hartman. It’s only my second time collecting votes for captains, but we had 10 guys get double-digit votes. Those four by far ran away with the most votes, but it’s encouraging so see 10 guys get double-digit votes. It means we have more than just four guys that are viewed in that captain’s eye in terms of the other guys on our team.”

On Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker’s growth

“We had a lot of situations in camp when it was unscripted. When you have a play-caller who has called plays for many years, a lot of times you script those things out. But it was something me and Gerad talked in length about, ‘Let me have some unscripted periods so I can get used to continually calling plays.’ We’d even do it in walkthroughs. We’d do walkthroughs and call it. Don’t script it out. Call it. That helps him with what’s it’s like to really, continuously call plays.

“I’ve been really pleased with the growth of him as a leader of a staff, the leader of the offense. He’s done a tremendous job. His players truly buy into who he is as a leader. That’s, to me, the reflection of a great leader. When your players start to speak the same language. When your players are acting very similar to the leadership in the offensive room or defensive room, it’s a reflection of leadership. I’m really pleased with what he’s done.”

On sophomore linebacker Jaylen Sneed

“He’s going to help us in a lot of different ways. He is a talented, talented football player. We will find ways to get him on the field because he makes us better when he’s on the field. We’re going to need all of those guys in the linebacker room. What we do with Jaylen, where we play him, will depend on each week but Jaylen Sneed is going to play for us because he makes us a better team when he’s out there.”

On the Notre Dame defensive line’s impressive fall camp

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little be surprised. You have some guys who have not shown in the game — the Jason Onyes, the Junior Tuihalamakas, the Josh Burnhams, the Gabe Rubios — those guys that really haven’t played much defense in game situations that we’re going to be able to count on. We’re going to be able to use those guys.

“Javontae [Jean-Baptiste] played at Ohio State. We know what Rylie [Mils] and Howard [Cross III] and some of those guys can do. Jordan Botelho has had a really good camp. I think coach [Al] Washington has been great. That’s been a room at times when you pull out Howard Cross and Rylie Mills and say get Onye in there with the ones. Get Rubio in there with the ones. Let’s see what they can do against really good players. Our edges go against Joe Alt and Blake Fisher every day. That’s going to make you better, or it’s going to expose you. One or the other.”

On Gi’Bran Payne being listed as the No. 2 running back on the depth chart

“Just consistency. Every couple days we talk about grades from practice. We grade practice. We talk about who we can trust, who’s dependable. That’s to me where Gi’Bran has truly elevated himself in that running back room. Talent matters. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t talented. But there might be some guys where you might say, hey, he might be a tad bit more talented. But we want to play guys who we trust and are dependable. And that’s what Gi’Bran has shown in protection, taking care of the football and doing his job. I think he’s graded higher than anyone in that room.”