What Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman said before Sun Bowl vs. Oregon State

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman spoke to reporters Thursday, the day before the Sun Bowl is set to kick off at 2 p.m. ET on Friday in El Paso, Texas. He discussed sophomore quarterback Steve Angeli, adjusting the offense to its new personnel, wide receivers coach Mike Brown and more.

Here’s what Freeman had to say in advance of Notre Dame’s final matchup of the season against Oregon State.

On Oregon State head coach Kefense Hynson [speaking directly to Hynson]

“It’s not surprising to me why you’ve earned this opportunity. You can tell by the ways players will rally around him, you’re a leader. Much congratulations to you.”

On his favorite experiences in El Paso this week

“Last night was pretty neat. I’ve never been to a hypnotist. It’s unique. I kind of woke up in the middle of the night, Googling if it’s real or not. That was the first time I’ve ever been to one of those shows. The night before, we went downtown and really got to experience El Paso a little bit. I could go on and on. This has been a great four days.”

On his expectations for Angeli in his first Notre Dame start

“Do the things that have put yourself in this position. To me, he’s earned the right in practice to be Sam Hartman‘s backup, and the opportunities that he’s played in games, he’s done really well. And so you got to be Steve Angeli. Don’t be Sam Hartman. Don’t be anybody else. Be Steve Angeli. Take care of the football. It’s always a good thing to do, take care of the football. And you know what, one play, one life. You guys heard me say that plenty of times before.”

On how much Notre Dame tailored its offense around Angeli

“Not much. Obviously, we have two new tackles, but the wideouts all have experience. I think as you look at our two backs [Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price] that are going to be playing, that’s probably where you started looking, you know, where a light tailoring has happened, but I don’t think what Steve and Sam do really well is really going to change what we do offensively.”

On his message to the players getting their first opportunities in the Sun Bowl

“Grasp this opportunity. There’s guys that this is gonna be their first time starting for Notre Dame, and there’s also guys that this is their last time playing for Notre Dame. And i think every single person that’s going to have an opportunity has a different opportunity in front of them, but grasp yours. And so, if you’re a first-time starter like Charles Jagusah, our left tackle, you know what? Go show that you can be the future left tackle of this program. That’s why you’re gonna go out there, and we have a strong belief in him.

“But also, you think about JD Bertrand, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, DJ Brown, Milk [Michael] Vinson. I could go on and on about the guys that have chosen to make this their last game. They didn’t have to play this game, and they’ve chosen to make this their last game, so they have an opportunity right in front of them that they’re looking to grasp, too.”

On the importance of Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III returning to Notre Dame

“Huge. Huge. We always say we want to be good up the middle. It can be in baseball, it can be in football, it can be on defense. When you talk about those two guys that have started, going on three years now, for our defense. They’re the foundation of what we do. So to have those guys back for this game and for the future, I think they’ll have great benefits to our program.”

On what he’s seen from the wide receiver room heading into the game

“All those wideouts that you mentioned [Jaden Greathouse, Jayden Thomas and Matt Salerno], they’ve all had game experience. They’ve all either played a whole bunch or started. To have JT back and healthy is really encouraging. He really hasn’t been healthy all year, so I expect him to do some great things. JG, Jaden Greathouse, has had a great bowl prep. Jordan Faison has done really, really well with his expanded role, and for what we’re gonna ask him to do.

“Getting [Deion] Colzie back and Salerno, a guy that has played in really big games, he always had it in his mindset when he got injured, that ‘I want to be back for the bowl game.’ Obviously he made it back for the Stanford game, but it’s gonna be great for Steve to have veterans, guys that have been out there that know what it’s like in a big-game situation.”

On Oregon State quarterback Ben Gulbrandson

“I think you have nine, eight games of film from when he did start. The thing I respect about him is he’s a winner. There’s no substitution for that. He’s shown to be a winner, and so he has that competitive spirit that we all desire to make sure our program has. We’re gonna do what we do, though. This isn’t about tricking your opponent. It’s about having a great game plan and giving your guys a chance to play fast, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

On the three new captains, Brown, Jean-Baptiste and Vinson

“Milk, DJ and Javontae, those three new captains, the thing I saw from them is gratitude. For me as the head coach, it was more, ‘Hey, who’s three guys that this is the last game that have given this program everything they had?’ And that’s why I made that decision, but to see the gratitude they have to be named a captain for Notre Dame’s football program, to me was humbling, as the head coach. They’re gonna be themselves. We don’t ask them to do anything other than be themselves, but they have a lot of pride in being named captains for this game.”

On how Love’s skill set changes the offense

“I think the things you can do with Jeremiyah varies from what you’re gonna ask Audric to do. We’re gonna ask Jeremiyah to do some things that we asked Audric to do, but also some things we didn’t ask Audric to do, where you can use him in different positions. You can obviously try to get him to the perimeter, and his speed is elite. So how can we find different ways to get him in space and get him the ball and say, ‘Go make a play’? Those, to me, are the ways you can expand the offense with Jeremiyah.”

On Brown’s first few weeks

“I mean, he hasn’t tiptoed into this thing. The first day we announced him as hired, he went and he grabbed them, and he dove right into this group, which is important, because trust is earned. He dove right in to earn the trust of those guys. And a big part of that is being on the field with them, coaching them. Not trying to see what — just coaching them, from the minute they stepped on the field, and that’s what you respect. He wasn’t worried about anybody’s feelings; he wants to make this group better.

“I’ve seen a belief, right? It’s not, ‘Have they gotten better?’ It’s been seven, eight practices. It’s the belief they have in a coach, that trust, that relationship that I think is so important, I’ve seen it develop right away.”