Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman spoke to the media on Monday, and here are some takeaways from what he said.
Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman met the with media on Monday afternoon, as he recapped the win over Boise State and previewed what to expect against NC State this coming weekend.
The Irish won an “ugly” game against the Broncos, and it very much seemed like a big focus on this week’s preparation was cleaning up some of the issues that arose. While he didn’t got into much depth about what Notre Dame will face against the Wolfpack this weekend, he did give a great recap of the issues that hurt this weekend.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways that I had while listening to Freeman’s Monday afternoon press conference.
Notre Dame has to clean up the penalties
This is pretty obvious and while I don’t often complain about what the refs do, when Freeman makes a note of it, they you have to way attention. He didn’t blame them for the calls, it was more about the Irish being much more disciplined going forward. Freeman cited that the focus needed to be better as well, the decision have to be better. He wasn’t as concerned about the aggressive penalties, the lack of discipline penalties is what irks him. Another big point that Freeman made was the every drive the offense scored, no penalties, which means that the Irish beat themselves on those drives. The flags didn’t hurt Notre Dame on Saturday, but could in the future, so cleaning up this area will be very important.
James Flanigan is getting close to returning
He’s an impact player, said Freeman, and it does look like he’s gotten past his injury and is healthy enough to play. What is holding him back right now it seems is the playbook, Flanigan has got to get more comfortable with that the offense is trying to do, and then we should see him on the field soon. That’s great news for an already potent offense.
Notre Dame offensive line has come together due to adjustments
The Notre Dame offense line has come a long way over the last three games, and part of the reason according to Freeman is the adjustments that they have been able to make. It took a few contests for this group to start to gel, and if you look at what the offense has done over the past three games, it’s a huge improvement. The run game has returned, and quarterback CJ Carr has tons of time to find open receivers. The line is starting to look much more like what we expected prior to the season.
If Noah Burnette can’t go, there will be one starter
Freeman said that they’re trying to monitor Burnette’s groin injury, and while it looked like he was turning to corner a few weeks ago, the tricky issue come up again. The Irish juggled with both Marcello Diomede and Erik Schmidt against Boise State, and it wasn’t the greatest result. Freeman mentioned that the kicking competition may have hurt this area, and that won’t happen going forward. He’s going to pick one, and ride with them.
No doubt that Chris Ash would turn around Notre Dame’s defense
The tough times help their relationship, and Freeman wasn’t surprised that Ash stayed steady as a leader, rally the troops and made decisions schematically with players to help get the defense back on track. It’s something that shouldn’t be a surprise, as Ash wasn’t on the staff last year and entered not really knowing how the players would react when they’re not playing against each other. He now has, and has made the changes to get this unit back to playing at a high-level. Freeman’s patience paid off.
Leonard Moore brings much more than just his talent to Notre Dame
The leadership and confidence for both this teammates and coordinators when Moore is on the field is huge according to Freeman. He knows that when he’s on the field, there is a high-probability that Moore will make a play on the ball when it’s thrown his way. After a two interception game against Boise State, it’s safe to say that Moore’s return was a great sight to see.
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa played more due to personnel with Boise State
It was due to Boise State playing with more tight ends, which gave Viliamu-Asa more opportunities to play. It did seem pretty clear that he’s No. 3 on the overall linebacker depth chart, as Freeman did mention that when there is just a need for two linebackers, that it will be Drayk Bowen and Jaylen Sneed out there. I’m not sure this is the right move, as I think that KVA has earned more playing time due to the impact that he has when he’s on the field.
The Wildcat will evolve with Notre Dame’s short yardage package
It was running back Jeremiyah Love taking a wildcat snap in the red zone that ended a possession for the Irish, as as Freeman was asked about that play, he mentioned that there is a need for a quarterback to be out there. What interesting is that he said this package of plays is growing, there could be a throw to Carr in the future. It will be interesting to see how this “trick play” will work, but it would be interesting to see what kind of hands the Irish quarterback has.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Thoughts on Marcus Freeman recapping Boise St. and preview NC State
Category: General Sports
