Marcus Freeman looked back at the 66-7 rout of Purdue and ahead to Saturday’s Miami of Ohio matchup. The players of the game against Purdue were Jeremiah Love on offense, Jordan Botelho on defense and Max Hurleman on special teams.
Freeman also indicated that Botelho and center Ashton Craig suffered season-ending knee injuries on Saturday. Guard Billy Schrauth will be out for at least a few weeks after his ankle injury. Jordan Faison is expected to play on Saturday, while Josh Burnham remains questionable.
The injury-related changes at center and guard, respectively were discussed by Freeman:
“We have a lot of confidence in Pat (Coogan) and Rocco (Spindler). We made the decision (to start Sam Pendleton) to make Pat the backup center but also get some reps at guard.
A follow-up query asked if center was the ideal spot for Coogan, given his versatility:
“I hope it’s his best position. We believe he could be a center or guard. Obviously, you have to snap at center and make some IDs.”
Freeman discussed making the best use of quarterback Riley Leonard’s assets on the field and how it worked against Purdue:
“That was the offense that we felt gave us the best chance to succeed versus Purdue. That fit his skill set and what we thought he did best. This week (against Miami), we have to continue to do what we think will give the offense the best chance to succeed … It’s a different defense than what we saw last week and every week when you go into preparation, you have to take into consideration what your guys can do well but also what’s gonna help you have success against the defense.”
The different players seeking to replace Botelho’s on-field contributions were noted by Freeman. In addition, he praised the efforts of the reserves who maintained Notre Dame’s dominance in Saturday’s game.:
“Bryce Young played really well … He’s young but he’s got a lot of talent. Junior Tuihalamaka, you’ll see more of him. You’ll see Logan Thomas, who did a good job in his reps that he got on Saturday. It was really good to see two’s and three’s (reserves) get valuable, meaningful reps versus an opponent, a Big Ten opponent. They played well, which speaks to me (about) their preparation. You never know going into a game whether you’re going to be called upon or not but you have to be ready.”
Freeman followed up by also other reserves who stood out against Purdue:
“A lot of guys earned some trust from their coaches on Saturday. I said Bryce Young, Leonard Moore continues to improve, he had a strong Fall camp. You have such confidence in Benjamin Morrison and Christian Gray and even Jaden MIckey, (you think) where can we find a way to get Leonard Moore on the field more? He’s a talented guy. Same thing with Kennedy Urlacher. He played really well. But then you say, okay, you got Adon (Shuler) out there, you got X (Xavier Watts), you got Rod Heard. Where can we find a play for those guys? They’re earning it.”
Urlacher’s talents were noted by Freeman:
“He’s a ballhawk. He finds a way to find the ball, close space he’s a really good tackler. The challenge in special teams, can we get him out there more? I’m gonna continue to challenge Kennedy that you’re a great practice player, too.”
Freeman highlighted the major successes that the team can take into this Saturday’s game:
“The preparation, the mindset. It can’t take a loss to have the mentality that we have to have, mentally and physically, to prepare the right way for an opponent. So, we have to move past the previous game and really start the preparation the right way, starting today.”
The inconsistencies in avoiding three-and-outs was noted by Freeman:
“That’s a challenge we have to get better at … You’re not gonna score every drive but we have to be able to move the chains.”
Freeman discussed the need for patience when it comes to establishing the ground game against an opponent:
“You still have to be committed to running the ball. That’s what our identity is, we want to be able to run the ball. You have to be patient.”
Taking advantage of punter James Rendell’s skills honed from Australian Rules Football were discussed by Freeman.
“He can do so many things with the football and we really have to evaluate what we’re asking him to do … What we have to do is call the things he can do in a game … We have to put him in a better position and ask him to do the things he does well, get experience and then we can have do all these different sorts of punts.”
