The MAC is back.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head football coach Marcus Freeman met with journalists Thursday following the team’s blowout 66-7 win against the Purdue Boilermakers to drop names and look ahead to more #MACtion against the Miami RedHawks.
Vyper Vision
On the vyper position with defensive lineman Jordan Botelho out with a season-ending knee injury Freeman said Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was not a viable option. ”He’s playing linebacker,” the coach noted. “But [defensive lineman] Loghan [Thomas] will be available and he has a chance to play on Saturday. [He] had a good week of practice. [defensive lineman] Boubacar [Traore has] done a really good job in stepping up in the starting role, and then Junior [Tuihalamaka has] had probably one of his best weeks of practice. So, [I’m] looking forward to seeing all three of them out there on Saturday being competitive and getting their job done.”
Giving Back
On being named honorary head coach of the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his service to Ronald McDonald House Charities and other work, Freeman said, “It’s a great honor. … some of the things I do outside of football aren’t to, it really isn’t to gain recognition or get rewarded for, but part of who I am and the position I’m in, the ability to impact others, to impact your community are so important to me. Those are values that I have and want to continue to do.”
For the Brand
On the importance of empowering players like Irish safety and podcaster Jordan Clark to build their own brands, Freeman said, “That’s a part of, hopefully, the enticement to come to Notre Dame is that you’re going to be able to utilize this huge platform that we have.We want our guys to be well-rounded individuals, and when they have time, be able to do some things that are outside the interest of being a football player. I’m glad Jordan’s able to capitalize off of that opportunity and still get everything in terms of football that we ask them to do completed. I think it’s important to understand that these are more than just football players. These guys understand at some point this game will be over.”
Wide Receiver Rundown
On Irish wide receivers’ performance against the Purdue Boilermakers, Freeman said, “We wanted to probably be in a little bit more 12 personnel to start the game versus Purdue. Just the way to try to attack their defense that we thought would give us the best chance to have success. And then, [Jaden Greathouse] didn’t play much in the second half just because of the lead and [we] wanted to give some other guys some opportunities, but he did a great job with the opportunities he had in the first half. I know he had a 25-yard catch that was negated by the holding penalty. So, Jaden did exactly what we asked out of him. As far as KK [Smith,] it was good to see him out there getting his first catch. He is constantly improving, and we’ll see what opportunities present on Saturday, but he is doing everything you ask in terms of practicing at a high level, continuous improvement and it was good to see him get a little bit of a reward on Saturday.”
The RedHawks’ QB
On the threat of Miami quarterback Brett Gabbert considering a leg injury last year, Freeman said, “He is a competitive individual. He really runs the offense well. He’s experienced. I went back to 2019 when we played him when I was at Cincinnati his freshman year. He throws a really good deep ball and does a really good job at taking care of the football. I don’t know if he’s run as much as he has in the past, but I would assume this game that he’s going to do whatever it takes to try to give his offense a chance to have success. So, we’re planning for him to run the ball, to throw the ball, but he is an experienced quarterback that is going to be difficult to confuse. We’re going to have to really play well on defense versus him.”
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