What Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said about injuries, QB situation
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman stopped just short of naming Riley Leonard his starting quarterback early Wednesday afternoon.
But his words — and actions — heavily indicate that the senior Duke transfer will lead the Irish into battle at Texas A&M on Aug. 31 in College Station, Texas.
“Riley’s going with the ones; Steve [Angeli is] going with the twos,” Freeman said. “The time I was over there, I was pleased with both of them.”
Leonard did indeed take the vast majority of reps with the first-team offense during Wednesday morning’s practice, while Angeli, a junior, ran with the second team.
“They both made some good plays in those last two periods,” Freeman said. “Again, this is day one, and I’m sure there’s a lot of learning, but I’m excited for what they’re doing.”
Both signal-callers, along with the rest of the team, showed some good and some bad. Leonard’s highs were multiple back-shoulder fades caught by senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas over junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison, and his lows were missing a would-be touchdown to graduate student wideout Kris Mitchell and looking flustered at times against the blitz.
Leonard looked an awful lot like a quarterback in his first practice after missing most of spring ball with ankle surgery, which is not lost on Freeman.
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“It’s something we have taken into consideration,” Freeman said. “Riley got a lot of reps this summer in terms of what he missed in the spring. So, we got to make sure he gets enough work to make sure he’s prepared to go.”
Freeman provides status updates for Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison, TEs Mitchell Evans and Kevin Bauman
Morrison, Evans and Bauman all practiced in a limited capacity, Freeman confirmed Wednesday.
The two tight ends went through individual drills and routes on air, nothing more. Morrison did some one-on-one work and team drills, but the Irish took him out for the back portion of practice.
“All are in return-to-play protocol,” Freeman said.
Ironically, Freeman’s update in late May was that Evans and Bauman were expected to be full go on Day 1 of fall camp, while Morrison was slated to be a partial participant. The star cornerback is progressing a bit faster than anticipated, while the tight ends are progressing a bit slower.
Still, the third-year Notre Dame head coach expects all three to be ready for Aug. 31 at Texas A&M.
“Everybody will be clear by the time we get to game week,” Freeman said. “I just don’t know exactly when it’s going to be over these next upcoming weeks. But they’ll be good to go.”
