Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock met with the media Tuesday after Irish football practice as 12th-ranked ND continues its preparations for Saturday's matchup in Atlanta with Georgia Tech. Here's everything he had to say. Answers are largely verbatim. Questions may have been edited for brevity and clarity.

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The ACC media is anticipating a notable encore to Markus Burton’s conference Rookie-of-the-Year season.

The Notre Dame sophomore point guard on Tuesday was selected to the Preseason All-ACC men's basketball first team, and is the only Irish player represented in the ACC’s preseason honors.

As a team, the Irish were picked to finish 10th in the expanded 18-team conference race. Notre Dame finished in a tie for 12th with Georgia Tech last season in the 15-team configuration. The Irish went 13-20 overall and 7-13 in league play in Micah Shrewberry’s first season as head coach.
Duke, ranked seventh in the preseason AP poll — also released Tuesday, is the preseason favorite to win the ACC. North Carolina, at No. 9, was the only other team that cracked the AP preseason Top 25.

Wake Forest, Miami, Clemson and Louisville all received votes in that poll.

Burton’s 17.5 point per game is the third-highest returning scoring average in the ACC, behind North Carolina’s RJ Davis (21.2), the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, and Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis (18.0 ppg).

Besides being named Rookie of the year last season, Burton was third-team All-ACC in 2023-24 as well. Among his statistical milestones was setting the ND freshman record for points in a season with 577.

Notre Dame plays a charity exhibition game at Purdue Fort Wayne on Oct. 30 before officially opening the season Nov. 6 at home against Stonehill.

2024 ACC Preseason Poll
School, Points
1. Duke (42), 956
2. North Carolina (11), 924
3. Wake Forest (1), 800
4. Clemson, 765
5. Virginia, 743
6. Miami, 659
7. Pitt, 636
8. NC State, 550
9. Louisville, 518
10. Notre Dame, 462
11. Syracuse, 454
12. Georgia Tech, 433
13. SMU, 344
14. Virginia Tech, 252
15. Florida State, 251
16. California, 206
17. Stanford, 165
18. Boston College, 116

First-place votes in parentheses; 54 total voters

Preseason ACC Player of the Year
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1

Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 53 votes
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 1

Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41
Nijel Pack, Miami, 37

Second Team
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20

*denotes unanimous selection

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden met with local media Tuesday night after practice ahead of Saturday's road game against Georgia Tech. Here's everything Golden said during his session with print reporters.

Answers are largely verbatim. Questions may have been edited for brevity and clarity.

AL GOLDEN

What did Leonard Moore show that allowed the staff to trust him?

“Maturity, really a mature kid. Prepares well. Athletic and intellect to go with it. Does what you ask. Rarely makes the same mistake twice in practice. That’s where he earns the trust. He’s got really good length, and he plays strong. He shows up in the run game, too, which is a great attribute to have.”

Did you anticipate his maturity or do you just not know until you get him on the practice field?

“You really don’t know. You try to get an idea through your interactions or the way they interact with their parents or the way they interact with our players or coaches. But you never know until they get here, but he is a really, really mature kid. Just all business. You don’t have to worry about any nonsense with him. It’s all about football.”

Where is Karson Hobbs at as far as earning that trust?

“He’s coming. He’s got to continue to just improve and keep it small, eliminate all the things that can get in the way of moving up the depth chart. That’s the biggest thing. Just keep it small. Stay focused. He’s got really, really natural raw ability. Just eliminate all the little setbacks as you go. That’s what’s really important for him right now.”

We see the physical growth of Bryce Young, but Marcus Freeman mentioned that sometimes you’ve got to remember that he’s a freshman. What are you able to ask from him?

“You always have to be wary of it, but there was one play in the first quarter of the game the other day. I stopped the tape, and it was Leonard, Bryce, Kyngstonn [Viliamu-Asa], Jaiden [Ausberry), Adon [Shuler]. You’re playing with a bunch of young guys at the point of attack on one specific play. I can’t remember the play. As it pertains to Bryce, same thing. He’s a football kid. You like investing in people that love it as much as you do, that care for their teammates, that want to be accountable to their teammates and that’s what Bryce screams every day. They are freshmen, but at the same time, I don’t know if there’s anybody on our staff that has ever said, ‘He’s a freshman. He can’t do this or he can’t do that or he can do this.’ We’ve just been trying to get him ready, and he’s responded well.”

Were you pleased with Gabriel Rubio’s first game back? It’s been a long wait.

“We just miss his strength, his anchor, his ruggedness. And then you saw it the other day. Was it a toss or a flair to the field? I think it was a toss. Drayk [Bowen] had the first shot and missed him. Then X (Xavier Watts) was there and then Gabe. It might have been an option, actually. But that’s what Gabe is. He’s just a rolling ball of nails and loves the game. It was great to have him back and see that and have Christian [Gray] healthy and Jack [Kiser] look healthier. So, there’s a bunch of guys that looked good.”

Joshua Burnham stepped back into vyper naturally. Is that his better position? Or will it be field eventually?

“Either one. He’s smart enough to do both. We’ll use him at both. The one thing that I say about Junior [Tuihalamaka] and Josh is they play the design of the defense. You know in your mind if they’re running a play, even if you don’t see the whole thing, you know where he fits and you can trust that they’re going to fit.

“Josh does a really good job of giving us the design back and making it go where we want it to go based on the people that are around him or behind him. And then he’s a really smart kid. You saw it the other day. It’s a technique that we use and rarely does it get tested. He used it and it was activated and made a big play.”

You really notice Drayk Bowen the last two games?

“He’s settling in. He’s playing faster, settling in, the games are starting to slow down for him. His communication has been awesome. Really pleased with the direction he’s going. We’ve noticed it too, the last couple games playing at a high level.”

How much of what you do made easier by Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III producing in the middle?

“I think they’re playing their best football right now. I think they would tell you they’re playing their best football. We’re going to need it. This is a [Georgia Tech offense averaging] 450 yards and 200 yards on the ground a game. This is a heckuva rushing attack, 5.5 a carry, I think. This is it. They’re made for this. This will be a great challenge for us.”

Cross and Mills have stepped up to provide pass rush after the vyper injuries. What allows them to be effective?

“I didn’t think of it in terms of that, but you’re exactly right. We did have a rash of injuries at the same time that they did step up and that has helped us a ton offset that, if you will. And also give time for Josh time to get back and all that. A), they’re both playing really well. They’re really engaged. They’re practicing really well. I told Rylie last week, I thought that was his best week of practice. Howard was telling me in the latter part of the week that he really felt good. He worked on a couple little things. He felt good. He was confident going into that game and both played well. Either one could have been the player of the game for defense. I think Howard had a couple more plays, so he got it. But either one could have been it.”

Cross has received a lot of accolades, but what has Mills meant to that defense?

“Oh, Rylie means everything. Rylie is an anchor. He’s a leader. Same guy every day. Consistent. He shows ruggedness. Will do the dirty work. Those guys don’t get enough credit for the dirty work. It’s not always pretty to be in there. You’ve got to take doubles on and sometimes you’ve got to hang in there in the B gap and rush while somebody else gets a sack, that kind of thing, but you made it happen. I think those guys are playing really well. This is the week, man. We need you. This is a big week for us.”

How much do you the interior defensive linemen have to know how to work with each other, especially in pass rushing?

“That’s true. There’s a lot of that. You need that rhythm. You need that communication. You need the little nuances that you’re talking about. The greatest thing about those two is that they help the other guys in the room. Donnie Hinish played really well Saturday. Gabe got back. Those guys. They make everybody else around them better, including the linebackers, which is great.”

S Brandon Logan with a big hit.

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And from out of nowhere, Notre Dame has landed its new 2025 class quarterback commitment.

I'll be updating this story:


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Irish land a center for the 2025 class.

Here's the latest on Notre Dame's injury front. Story to come.

CB Benjamin Morrison injured hip and out for the season.

K Mitch Jeter is questionable
OG Billy Schrauth questionable
WR Jordan Faison available

A surprise here as 2026 four-star defensive end Braeden Jones committed to USC this afternoon.

Jones, from Chicago's Mt. Carmel, visited Notre Dame multiple times, and I put a Notre Dame FutureCast in for him back in May. Big get for the Trojans, though they have had trouble holding onto early commitments recently.

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Story from our USC site:

More evidence of the progress Notre Dame's making in the NIL space. Jay Blair, father of Notre Dame safety commit JaDon Blair, announced that his son has signed his first NIL contract with RALLY.

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Last week, Hebert told me he had not heard a word from Notre Dame. The rumor now is that the Irish could be making a push for the Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick four-star quarterback. We will monitor to see if this is a quick flip situation.

Warmups are underway in Notre Dame Stadium press box, so let's get the game thread for Notre Dame-Stanford rolling.

We will use this game thread as the primary home for game commentary from now until after the game. We have some rules we'll ask you to follow, which will be included below.

If you're not following the rules and do not respond well to reminders, we'll remove you're posting privileges for the rest of the day. We have too much to do today to argue about it during the game. This doesn't happen often as we're pretty lenient in the game thread, but please keep that in mind.

@HotCarNut has disciplinary powers as a moderator. You can argue with him about the game, but do not argue with him about the rules.

Our game thread rules:

1. Use this thread until the end of the game for ongoing game commentary. We'd like to keep the conversation in one place. If something from the game merits a separate conversation of substance, go ahead and start another thread for that topic. When in doubt, post in the game thread.

2. Criticism of decision-making by coaches and players is allowed. But please avoid making it personal. Don't be malicious. Remember, that person's mother could be reading your post. If you cross the line, you'll lose posting privileges for the day.

3. Don't be a doofus. Have some respect for your fellow subscribers.

Are we still in it for this LB? Thanks

Old timers - is this current group more talented than the 90-92 group (Bettis, Rocket, Dorsey Levins, Ricky Watters, Tony Brooks, Rodney Culver, Reggie Brooks)?

Our third string freshman Williams would be starting at many programs.

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Former Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet has already caught a pair of touchdowns for the Chicago Bears in the first half against Jacksonville in London. Kmet is also serving as Chicago's long snapper after fellow Domer Scott Daly went down with an injury in the first quarter.

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Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman will hold his Monday press conference at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

We'll have updates from his press conference posted in this thread while it's happening.

The live stream is available here:

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The FutureCast system doesn't let us make predictions for recruits already predicted elsewhere, but I have one I'd like to make for a 2025 Notre Dame target.

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Join us at 7 p.m. EDT on YouTube as @Eric Hansen and I go live for the next weekly edition of "Football Never Sleeps."

We'll discuss Notre Dame's offensive progress shown against Stanford, what it will take to continue that in the coming weeks, takeaways from head coach Marcus Freeman's Monday press conference and the latest in recruiting for the Irish. We'll answer questions live from viewers, too.

We hope you join us live with questions or submit some ahead of time. Hit the bell to set a reminder to get notified when we go live.

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If you'd like to submit questions, make sure you click through so you're watching on YouTube's site or in the YouTube app if you're on mobile. You can do so by clicking the headline at the top of the embedded video above. So where it says "Football Never Sleeps: ..." Or there should be spot that says "Watch on YouTube" in the bottom left.

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COACHES POLL: Link

AP POLL: Link

Here's the Irish Access video from Fighting Irish Media on Notre Dame's victory over Stanford:

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Will Howard, what are you doing?!

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Marcus Freeman wasn't sure if Joshua Burnham was going to be able to play based on how he looked during practice at times. But the junior defensive end played a key role in ND's dominant defensive performance.

“I remember asking him, ‘Are you going to be able to go?’" Freeman shared after the game. "He said, ‘Coach, there's no way I'm not going to be able to play.’ He really did some good things and made a huge interception. But just take your hat off to him because some people maybe wouldn't have played with the pain that he goes through, but he's a tough individual. I'm glad we have him out there.”