Quick hitters: What Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said the team needs from Irish fans
Fighting Irish football coach Marcus Freeman addressed the media in his weekly Monday news conference. He put the finishing touches on No. 9 Notre Dame’s (4-0) 41-17 victory over Central Michigan while previewing this Saturday’s matchup against No. 6 Ohio State (3-0).
Freeman commented on four things to reporters: Notre Dame’s attendance Saturday, the team’s opponent and his thoughts on Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Jason Onye.
On optics of Notre Dame’s opponents’ fans infiltrating Notre Dame Stadium for big games:
“We want to see a lot of green in here. That’s the cool thing about Saturday. We got green jerseys. I don’t know if they’re calling it a greenout. But we want to see a lot of green.
“I think our players notice that and appreciate that. Especially pregame. We want to make sure there are as many Notre Dame fans as we can get. I think they’re doing some cool things for the fan experience.
“So, I encourage our fans, man. Make sure you’re here. Let’s get as much green in this stadium as we can.”
On Notre Dame hosting Ohio State:
“Obviously, we have a great opponent coming in. We’re excited about the chance to go against a top-tier opponent, for sure. We’re excited about the atmosphere and the experience that’s going to be here with College Gameday, the Pat McAfee Show, NBC. We finally get to wear the green uniforms. They talked me into wearing a green jacket today. I said I’ll wear it.
“We expect to see a lot of green in that stadium. I think it’s going to be a really cool opportunity, a great opportunity on Saturday night to play a great opponent in Notre Dame Stadium. …
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“I am looking forward to seeing Ryan Day again. He’s done an unbelievable job leading that program. I’ve told him every time I talk to him that he’s just done a tremendous job of really leading that program. We know it’s going to be a really good opponent with a great coaching staff. We’re looking forward to that.”
On former Ohio State defensive lineman Javontae Jean-Baptiste circling this Saturday’s game:
“I can’t jump into his brain and know what’s going on. But my message to him will be the same thing to really everybody else: don’t worry about Saturday. Worry about today. And when we get to Saturday, worry about doing your job and winning the interval every single play.
“That’s all that really matters. Nothing else truly matters if we want to have success and if he wants to have a successful game. You have a great Monday, and you stay in the moment. And then, on Saturday, you win the interval.
“If you want to have a great outcome, that’s what it’s going to take, Javontae. The constant reminder … he was there last year and knows a lot of those guys. So, the ability to continue to remind him, this is what you need to continue telling yourself, and this is what you need to do to have success.”
On defensive lineman Jason Onye’s growth:
“We said after film, ‘This is the best I’ve seen Jason Onye play in an actual football game.’ He’s earning more reps, and we’ll play him more because he’s doing some really good things on the football field.”
