I've seen some posts asking about the press conference.
We don't plan to upload video, but here are the transcripts from Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, quarterback Jack Coan, running back Chris Tyree and linebackers Drew White and JD Bertrand following the 37-35 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.
MARCUS FREEMAN: Well, obviously didn't finish the outcome that we wanted. We're obviously disappointed. I thought the kids prepared tremendously. I thought the coaching staff did a great job, but at the end of the day, we didn't execute when it mattered most. But these guys, man, this is a special group; and for those that aren't coming back, they're going to be greatly missed. More than anything, I think there's a group that's, one, disappointed, but, two, motivated, motivated to right what happened today and to start the progression for the future. As I told them 28 days ago, this is about right now. This is about finishing this season off the right way. Wouldn't happen. And it's okay. All we can do now is start focusing on what we'll do as we move forward to make sure that we're successful the next time we're on a field.
Sorry about the loss today. What is your message back to the fan base? It's your first game in as the head coach. You said a lot there in your opening statement, but what is the driving message back to the fan base down in South Bend?
MARCUS FREEMAN: They deserve a winning product. They deserve a team that every week goes out there and wins. It's our job to make sure we prepare and do everything necessary to give this team, the fan base, the university, and everybody else that deserves a really, really good product out on that field. So we'll get back to work. That's the only thing we know how to do. Win or lose, we're going to get back to work and find ways to improve and make sure that we're even more prepared and have a better opportunity to have success next time we're on the field.
I know you said this isn't the way you wanted your first game to go today, but can you just kind of tell me what it was like on the field with your first game as head coach of this program?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Like everything else that's happened in these first 28 days, it's an honor. It's a surreal feeling at times. I try to take it in, and I try to understand the platform you're on; but at the same time, as the foot hit the ball, it's time to go. It's time to lead. It's time to be the head coach. And so just want to make sure that we're doing everything in our power to give these kids a chance to have success.
Schematically, in the second half, what did Oklahoma State do differently offensively to sort of get you guys moving in some bad directions? And was there anything that happened today that you learned about yourself as a head coach for the first time that may inform kind of what you want the rest of the off-season to look like, where you want things to go next?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah. They did a good job at getting into some 10 personnel which they really hadn't shown much all year. It was good. They made some good second-half adjustments offensively and defensively to stop what we were doing offensively and to kind of exploit some things defensively. So they did a good job. And you got to give them credit where credit's due. But for me, obviously, as the leader of this program, again, it's a pit in your stomach, as I told the group a minute ago, that you want to bottle it up, and you want to remember how this feels. The honeymoon stage is over; right? The whole new head coach, it's a great story. No. It's about having a great product, and it's about having a great team. So we have to make sure that it's about developing this team for next year. Right? This year's over. So everything we do from now moving forward is going to be development and making sure we're prepared to have success.
Marcus, was Tyler Buchner an option for you guys today? Was he available? And if so, what went into your guys' management on how to do that?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah, he was definitely an option. You look at the way our offense is moving the ball the first half. I don't think Coach [Tommy] Rees wanted to make that change, and he wanted to keep that thing going. As you get to the second half, they did a good job getting some three and outs; but, obviously, not until the fourth quarter did the lead change, in terms of who was in the lead. So I think at that point, you know, you're just going to ride with Jack. And Jack played well, man. He played really well. Obviously, there's a couple plays we wish we could take back, but we can't. And so I'm proud as heck of Jack. I'm looking forward to seeing this QB competition as we move forward.
Couple questions. One is could you evaluate the offensive line play today? The second is you had a big to-do list beyond getting ready for the bowl. Do you just take a deep breath now, or do you have to plunge right into coaching hires, portal perusal, and those kinds of things?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah. I think for the most part, again, I haven't gone and evaluated it, but they protected the quarterback. Again, it's the tale of two halves, in terms of the first half, you scored 28 points, I think, offensively. We're moving the ball. They're protecting the quarterback. And in the second half, obviously, things didn't go that way. So we have to go back and timing and look and say, okay, what did the defense do second half schematically that gave us issues? And let's try to find a way to make sure that never happens again.
As far as taking a deep breath, I'm more motivated now to go, go, go; right? And everything we do, from staff to personnel to recruiting to whatever it is that this organization needs to improve, that's all my mindset is.
Certainly the fastest tempo you saw this year as a defense. Was it something you were prepared for, and how hard was it to combat that? And the second part of my question was: They seemed to start targeting [Tay] Martin against Clarence Lewis. Was there any way to help that or would that compromise your defense too much in the back end?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah. We knew they were going to go fast, and they did. We prepared for it; but at the end of the day, they still executed a little bit better than we did defensively. And we wanted to play some zone early in the game, and they were starting to exploit that zone. So we said, Okay, let's change the play a little bit more man. You know what? I trust him. You know what? That guy made some plays. He's a heck of a player. We got to do a better job of maybe mixing it up. You know what? CLew is going to do great things for us, and he's done great things for us. I wouldn't trade him for the world.
You get some pass rush in that first quarter against Spencer Sanders. What changed, as the game went on, that negated the pass rush?
MARCUS FREEMAN: You started to see them running quarterback draws. All of a sudden, you get pass rush, and the quarterback scrambles up the middle, we're going to tell our defenders, Hey, don't rush the quarterback. So it's a chess match. We want to get pass rush, but we also don't want the quarterback to scramble right up the middle of our defense. So they did a good job of mixing up. They did a good job of getting the ball out of quarterback's hand. And so that could slow down your pass rush. Your pass rush is nonexistent if they can get the ball out his hands so fast. They did a good job. Again, kudos to them. We got to look at how we can fix some things and make sure we're better prepared.
Coach [Freeman], this is obviously a tough loss. I'm just curious whether you've had a chance to grasp the enormity of the program, the enormity of the job. We're thinking about the Knute Rockne and the Heismans and the championships. Did that factor into your mind at all during the preparation? And now that you've had a chance to digest it, what does it feel like to be in charge of a program this big?
MARCUS FREEMAN: You know the enormous responsibility the moment you're named the head coach of the University of Notre Dame football team. And so I understand the expectations. You can't focus on that. The only thing you can focus on is your guys. The only thing to focus on is enhancing what you do. That's where my focus is. It's not about, hey, do you know the pressure that's on you? No. It's about you know what? Everything in my power that I can do to make sure this team improves every single day and that we improve, as an organization, in terms of how we recruit, our culture, how we develop these guys. That's where my mindset is. It's not about how big this opportunity is. It's about, hey, taking care of these guys and making sure we're helping them improve and reach their goals.
You mentioned the honeymoon period being over. I'm curious, how much do you feel this loss maybe does for the excitement for the start of your era here at Notre Dame with the fan base and in terms of just the excitement around the program that you have had for the first month since you've been on board as head coach?
MARCUS FREEMAN: It might disappointment some people, but I understand where we're going in the future, and I understand we have a lot of games ahead of us, and we're going to use this game as motivation. We're going to use this game to look back and say, Remember that first one? Look where we've come from there. Sometimes you got to look at it as a blessing, man. Maybe it wasn't this honeymoon phase that kept going boom, boom, and all of a sudden, everything is good and, bam, reality hits. We got to work harder. We got to make sure that we evaluate everything we do a little bit more so the next time we step on that field, we're prepared a little bit more to have success.
We don't plan to upload video, but here are the transcripts from Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, quarterback Jack Coan, running back Chris Tyree and linebackers Drew White and JD Bertrand following the 37-35 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.
MARCUS FREEMAN: Well, obviously didn't finish the outcome that we wanted. We're obviously disappointed. I thought the kids prepared tremendously. I thought the coaching staff did a great job, but at the end of the day, we didn't execute when it mattered most. But these guys, man, this is a special group; and for those that aren't coming back, they're going to be greatly missed. More than anything, I think there's a group that's, one, disappointed, but, two, motivated, motivated to right what happened today and to start the progression for the future. As I told them 28 days ago, this is about right now. This is about finishing this season off the right way. Wouldn't happen. And it's okay. All we can do now is start focusing on what we'll do as we move forward to make sure that we're successful the next time we're on a field.
Sorry about the loss today. What is your message back to the fan base? It's your first game in as the head coach. You said a lot there in your opening statement, but what is the driving message back to the fan base down in South Bend?
MARCUS FREEMAN: They deserve a winning product. They deserve a team that every week goes out there and wins. It's our job to make sure we prepare and do everything necessary to give this team, the fan base, the university, and everybody else that deserves a really, really good product out on that field. So we'll get back to work. That's the only thing we know how to do. Win or lose, we're going to get back to work and find ways to improve and make sure that we're even more prepared and have a better opportunity to have success next time we're on the field.
I know you said this isn't the way you wanted your first game to go today, but can you just kind of tell me what it was like on the field with your first game as head coach of this program?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Like everything else that's happened in these first 28 days, it's an honor. It's a surreal feeling at times. I try to take it in, and I try to understand the platform you're on; but at the same time, as the foot hit the ball, it's time to go. It's time to lead. It's time to be the head coach. And so just want to make sure that we're doing everything in our power to give these kids a chance to have success.
Schematically, in the second half, what did Oklahoma State do differently offensively to sort of get you guys moving in some bad directions? And was there anything that happened today that you learned about yourself as a head coach for the first time that may inform kind of what you want the rest of the off-season to look like, where you want things to go next?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah. They did a good job at getting into some 10 personnel which they really hadn't shown much all year. It was good. They made some good second-half adjustments offensively and defensively to stop what we were doing offensively and to kind of exploit some things defensively. So they did a good job. And you got to give them credit where credit's due. But for me, obviously, as the leader of this program, again, it's a pit in your stomach, as I told the group a minute ago, that you want to bottle it up, and you want to remember how this feels. The honeymoon stage is over; right? The whole new head coach, it's a great story. No. It's about having a great product, and it's about having a great team. So we have to make sure that it's about developing this team for next year. Right? This year's over. So everything we do from now moving forward is going to be development and making sure we're prepared to have success.
Marcus, was Tyler Buchner an option for you guys today? Was he available? And if so, what went into your guys' management on how to do that?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah, he was definitely an option. You look at the way our offense is moving the ball the first half. I don't think Coach [Tommy] Rees wanted to make that change, and he wanted to keep that thing going. As you get to the second half, they did a good job getting some three and outs; but, obviously, not until the fourth quarter did the lead change, in terms of who was in the lead. So I think at that point, you know, you're just going to ride with Jack. And Jack played well, man. He played really well. Obviously, there's a couple plays we wish we could take back, but we can't. And so I'm proud as heck of Jack. I'm looking forward to seeing this QB competition as we move forward.
Couple questions. One is could you evaluate the offensive line play today? The second is you had a big to-do list beyond getting ready for the bowl. Do you just take a deep breath now, or do you have to plunge right into coaching hires, portal perusal, and those kinds of things?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah. I think for the most part, again, I haven't gone and evaluated it, but they protected the quarterback. Again, it's the tale of two halves, in terms of the first half, you scored 28 points, I think, offensively. We're moving the ball. They're protecting the quarterback. And in the second half, obviously, things didn't go that way. So we have to go back and timing and look and say, okay, what did the defense do second half schematically that gave us issues? And let's try to find a way to make sure that never happens again.
As far as taking a deep breath, I'm more motivated now to go, go, go; right? And everything we do, from staff to personnel to recruiting to whatever it is that this organization needs to improve, that's all my mindset is.
Certainly the fastest tempo you saw this year as a defense. Was it something you were prepared for, and how hard was it to combat that? And the second part of my question was: They seemed to start targeting [Tay] Martin against Clarence Lewis. Was there any way to help that or would that compromise your defense too much in the back end?
MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah. We knew they were going to go fast, and they did. We prepared for it; but at the end of the day, they still executed a little bit better than we did defensively. And we wanted to play some zone early in the game, and they were starting to exploit that zone. So we said, Okay, let's change the play a little bit more man. You know what? I trust him. You know what? That guy made some plays. He's a heck of a player. We got to do a better job of maybe mixing it up. You know what? CLew is going to do great things for us, and he's done great things for us. I wouldn't trade him for the world.
You get some pass rush in that first quarter against Spencer Sanders. What changed, as the game went on, that negated the pass rush?
MARCUS FREEMAN: You started to see them running quarterback draws. All of a sudden, you get pass rush, and the quarterback scrambles up the middle, we're going to tell our defenders, Hey, don't rush the quarterback. So it's a chess match. We want to get pass rush, but we also don't want the quarterback to scramble right up the middle of our defense. So they did a good job of mixing up. They did a good job of getting the ball out of quarterback's hand. And so that could slow down your pass rush. Your pass rush is nonexistent if they can get the ball out his hands so fast. They did a good job. Again, kudos to them. We got to look at how we can fix some things and make sure we're better prepared.
Coach [Freeman], this is obviously a tough loss. I'm just curious whether you've had a chance to grasp the enormity of the program, the enormity of the job. We're thinking about the Knute Rockne and the Heismans and the championships. Did that factor into your mind at all during the preparation? And now that you've had a chance to digest it, what does it feel like to be in charge of a program this big?
MARCUS FREEMAN: You know the enormous responsibility the moment you're named the head coach of the University of Notre Dame football team. And so I understand the expectations. You can't focus on that. The only thing you can focus on is your guys. The only thing to focus on is enhancing what you do. That's where my focus is. It's not about, hey, do you know the pressure that's on you? No. It's about you know what? Everything in my power that I can do to make sure this team improves every single day and that we improve, as an organization, in terms of how we recruit, our culture, how we develop these guys. That's where my mindset is. It's not about how big this opportunity is. It's about, hey, taking care of these guys and making sure we're helping them improve and reach their goals.
You mentioned the honeymoon period being over. I'm curious, how much do you feel this loss maybe does for the excitement for the start of your era here at Notre Dame with the fan base and in terms of just the excitement around the program that you have had for the first month since you've been on board as head coach?
MARCUS FREEMAN: It might disappointment some people, but I understand where we're going in the future, and I understand we have a lot of games ahead of us, and we're going to use this game as motivation. We're going to use this game to look back and say, Remember that first one? Look where we've come from there. Sometimes you got to look at it as a blessing, man. Maybe it wasn't this honeymoon phase that kept going boom, boom, and all of a sudden, everything is good and, bam, reality hits. We got to work harder. We got to make sure that we evaluate everything we do a little bit more so the next time we step on that field, we're prepared a little bit more to have success.
