Quick-hitters: Marcus Freeman on bye week practices, Steve Angeli, Xavier Watts

Marcus Freeman wanted Notre Dame’s off week to be full of productive and physical practices. The Irish held three sessions, going Tuesday through Thursday the week after beating North Carolina before taking Friday through Sunday off.

Some players needed rest to recover from injuries. Safeties Ramon Henderson (ankle) and DJ Brown (hamstring) were among them. Tight end Michael Mayer was “banged up” and needed some time off, Freeman said. The primary running back trio of Chris Tyree, Logan Diggs and Audric Estime had their practice workloads closely monitored.

Anyone who didn’t need physical recovery, though, put on the pads and went full speed.

“For a majority of the group, we had to get better,” Freeman said. “For Michael Mayer, physically recovering is going to help him get better.

“We had to go out there, bang, practice with pads on and really get after it. It was a chance for us at the end of practice to get some young guys to get some live reps and develop the core nucleus of our team. We had some really physically challenging practices.”

Brown was injured in the Sept. 24 win over North Carolina. Henderson did not play that day and was seen on the sideline with a brace around his ankle. Freeman said both are on track to return to practice this week and play vs. No. 16 BYU Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC).

Freeman met with reporters for half an hour in his Monday press conference to begin BYU week. Here are some highlights and topics he addressed.

On keeping the momentum from beating North Carolina

“You want to build off the momentum, but to me, it’s the challenge to really re-evaluate and re-assess where you are after each game. You have a week off, but let’s evaluate the past, evaluate how we can improve and put all our energy and emotion after this game.

“It’s going to be about the preparation. The challenge is to focus on the things that help you get the desired results. It’s the preparation, how we prepare. Saturday will come. Starting with practice today, we have to have a great Monday practice and prepare the right way.”

On his appeal of linebacker JD Bertrand’s targeting penalty vs. North Carolina

“In their opinion, that was a targeting penalty and they denied our appeal. He will be out for the first half.

“I’ll save my opinion. We felt like we had a strong appeal.”

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On safety Xavier Watts’ 28 snaps in the North Carolina game

“X did a really good job. There was a play – a touchdown – where we have to make sure we take an angle where we can get the guy down. X is a guy who continuously improves. He has been playing the safety position for close to a year, hasn’t even been a year yet. We moved him last year during the season. He has a lot of natural ability that we have to continue to coach and mold to be an excellent safety.”

On keeping Watts’ focus only at safety and ending his brief cross-training at receiver

“He’s all safety now. We tried it in fall camp moving him back to offense. [Safeties coach Chris] O’Leary wanted to fight every day to keep him on defense. We felt his role had more value to our team on defense than to go on offense and compete to try and get playing time. Defensively, there was already a plan for him to play. After a couple practices, we said, ‘Let’s just keep him on defense.’”

On freshman quarterback Steve Angeli’s progress

“Every practice we’re out there is beneficial for Steve because he’s no longer taking scout team reps. He’s taking real reps and understanding at any moment, he could be thrust into the game. As I told him, you’re not a freshman anymore. You’re one play away from being the starting quarterback at Notre Dame. That’s the reality of the situation. If that happens, he will be ready to go.”

On what Notre Dame can take from its offensive performance vs. North Carolina

“That’s what our identity has to be. We have to be able to run the ball. It’s not always going to be explosive 10- or 15-yard gains. If you’re able to move the ball with consistency, stay on track, stay in rhythm, it opens up everything in your offense with a pass game. It’s great to see.

“I think it’s a testament to our offensive line. It starts with them. I don’t care what running back you have back there, if your offensive line isn’t executing blocking the way it has to, nobody is going to be able to run the ball. Our offensive line continues to get better and better.”

On why injured quarterback Tyler Buchner has watched games from the coaches’ booth

“It started with we didn’t want him in harm’s way. He was two or three days out of surgery. We wanted to get him away from anywhere he could possibly get in harm’s way. He’s up there charting plays now and being another set of eyes, writing down notes. If that’s more beneficial for our offense, let’s do it. At some point, he will come down and be a voice for Drew [Pyne].