What Marcus Freeman said about Notre Dame transfer additions

Notre Dame made its six transfer additions official on Wednesday’s National Signing Day. Here’s everything Irish head coach Marcus Freeman had to say about them.

Riley Leonard, quarterback, Duke

“He was the best quarterback that we believe was in the portal. … We weren’t looking for a pocket passer. We weren’t looking for a dual-threat guy. We said, ‘Okay, as we look to take another guy to add to this program, who’s the best one that fits this place? The best one that fits this place, and then how do we tailor what we do offensively around those guys?’ And so I think that’s the situation we were in with Riley.

“He’s a complete quarterback. Number one, he’s competitive. I don’t want that to be a word that’s just thrown out there lightly. That’s something that I have a lot of respect for, how competitive you are. You see by the way he plays in short-yardage situations, the ability to put his shoulder down and say, ‘I’m not going to be denied.’

“But then in the passing game, he can make every single throw. He’s accurate, but he can also extend plays with his legs. And now he has a true ability to make you respect him by throwing the ball in some of those zone-read situations. So, what it does is put the defense at conflict. You’re not just saying, ‘Hey, we’ll react to the quarterback keeping the ball. You have to have a defender accounted for the quarterback. So, what does that do? It opens up things in the pass game, because you got an extra defender trying to stop the run with the quarterback.

“That, to me, is an important factor when you talk about offense. When you have the ability to run the ball as a quarterback, it puts the defense in conflict, in difficult situations.”

More on new Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard

Jordan Clark, nickel back, Arizona State

“We see him being a nickel in our base defense. Similar to Thomas Harper, nickel/safety. But he is — man, talk about a competitor. Another guy that you can look at his father [Ryan Clark] that played many years in the NFL. I love Ryan’s story, because Ryan was a free agent. Ryan was a free agent, having to earn that second, third contract and became a great Pro Bowler. Jordan understands the work that has to be put in to achieve those types of things. Some of our guys don’t understand it yet, but Jordan understands that because his father is a great example of the work you have to put in to get those desired results.

“I’ve talked to [Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham, who called Freeman to endorse Clark during his visit to Notre Dame] maybe once or twice before. That’s a reflection of him as a person, but also Jordan Clark, in terms of the impact he made on that program and on that head coach.”

More on new Notre Dame nickel back Jordan Clark

Kris Mitchell, wide receiver, Florida International

“We were looking for speed, and that’s what, to me, stuck out on film. He has a lot of production — his production is through the roof — but his speed that he truly has and could add to our team is what attracted us to both [Mitchell and Clemson transfer wide receiver Beaux Collins].”

“I think you look at the guys he goes against, you look at some of the bigger games they play versus really good competition, and then you really evaluate the skillset. Maybe not look at just who’s he going against, but let’s watch him. Let’s watch how can he separate, how does he catch the ball in contested situations? It’s easy when you’re wide open, go catch the ball. I’m looking at, ‘Hey, how does he make contested catches?’ Is he running by guys or is he struggling to get by guys? 

“Those were all the things that, to me, you look at when you’re looking at guys like, ‘Maybe this can be in the Power Five level.”

More on new Notre Dame wide receiver Kris Mitchell

Beaux Collins, wide receiver, Clemson

“We wanted size and speed. I [coached] against Beaux Collins on the defensive side of the ball the last two years. I know the talent he is. He’s an extremely talented football player that has shown on film to make plays at a high level in college football in big games. That was something we were looking for. His length, yes, is important, but his productivity is, to me, the thing that stuck out. I knew, just from going against him, what type of player he is.”

More on new Notre Dame wide receiver Beaux Collins

R.J. Oben, defensive end, Duke

“With R.J., we would see being a defensive end. Yeah, truly being an end. Again, another guy we went against in person. When he got to the portal, we were looking for a defensive end and we couldn’t find a better one. 

“I remember being in a car with Joe Alt, coming back from [the Lombardi Award ceremony] and he said, ‘You guys recruiting?’ [I said,] ‘We’re going after the kid from Duke that just got in the portal.’ He was like, ‘That’s probably the best one I went against.’ Joe Alt saying that confirms what I saw on film, and so we’re excited to get R.J. here.”

More on new Notre Dame defensive end R.J. Oben

Mitch Jeter, kicker, South Carolina

“In the two years that I’ve been head coach, the one thing I’ve kind of changed my philosophy on is taking points. It’s important to get points on the board. You can’t be so greedy and turn down opportunities to kick field goals. When you have a kicker that you believe is the best, right, the best out there, it’s a great feeling for an offensive coordinator and a head coach to say, ‘Let’s take the points and kick it.’”

More on new Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter

More Notre Dame National Signing Day links

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish National Signing Day Central
• What Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said about the Irish offensive coordinator situation
• Notre Dame 2024 National Signing Day: By the Numbers