SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Twenty minutes have passed since practice ended, the organized chaos of players and coaches trying to prepare the Notre Dame football team to meet the moment. And now Marcus Freeman is picking at a salad in his office.
He smiles. This is the very short period of time in a head coach’s day where he can sit back and take stock of the work that’s already been done. It’s the eve of the 2024 college football season; nearly all the hay is in the barn already.
The Irish defense has sharpened itself, ready to make its case as one the best units in the country. Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard says he’s back to full health after a pair of offseason ankle surgeries, prepared to play and to show off what he’s learned from a new playbook. And Freeman has decided to roll the dice with young and inexperienced offensive linemen who have, collectively, started six total games.
Freeman believes the role of a head coach is to prepare his team as best he can, so it has a chance to perform at its highest possible level as often as possible. He’s done it with this group and thinks he knows how they’ll perform — but even he can’t predict what’s going to happen Saturday night against No. 20 Texas A&M.
The season-opener at Kyle Field might very well end up being the most challenging game on Notre Dame’s schedule this season. The Irish only have two other games against teams ranked in the preseason AP poll (No. 10 Florida State and No. 23 USC), and one of those teams has already lost a game. It looks, on paper, to be quite manageable. It seems like this — Freeman’s Year 3 — can be his breakthrough season, where he takes the Irish to the College Football Playoff for the first time with him at the helm.
Such pressure (and related excitement) coincides with the first year of the 12-team CFP. There will now be seven at-large spots available, which means there’s even more people expecting Notre Dame to fill one, even without a conference championship to play. Under Freeman, the Irish are 19-8 with two bowl wins, a few signature wins (like the one over USC last year) and a couple of disappointing losses (like the one to Marshall two years ago). It’s time for Notre Dame to beat the teams it is supposed to and knock off at least one or two of the best teams on its schedule.
“I’m at a place with high expectations, and any competitor wants that,” Freeman said. “I don’t want to be at a place where their expectations aren’t to make the playoffs. And that’s our expectation here — to make them, to win them and to win a championship. …
“You dream about your season, that it’s going to be perfect, you’re going to win every game by a big margin, and it’s just going to be smooth sailing. But there are going to be challenges. How do you prepare your group for those times that are going to be difficult? That’s my ultimate goal. … My job is keep us all together and give this team a chance.”
Having two veteran coordinators at his side has helped, too. Al Golden is in his third season at Notre Dame, so both coaches know each other and this place well; they know exactly how they want that side of the ball to work. Freeman brought veteran offensive Mike Denbrock back from LSU to run the offense. He trusts both coordinators implicitly, which means Freeman feels freed up to focus on whatever is most pressing on any given day. If the punt team needs work, he can give the group his full attention and trust that Golden and Denbrock have everything else under control.
Because of that, Freeman said he doesn’t have to spend a ton of time reviewing every single snap on both sides of the ball himself. He can also devote more time to the small things that could win or lose a game, like how fast the Irish break out of the huddle or what players are doing on the sidelines between plays. Freeman said he has “no concerns and high expectations” for the defense.
The offense is more fascinating. As a unit, it has taken on a bit Denbrock’s personality, Freeman said. Denbrock is a fierce competitor, as is Leonard. The two have spent a great deal of time together, even when Leonard was rehabbing his ankle throughout the spring. They’re working on making sure Leonard goes through his progressions as a passer instead of immediately scrambling. He’s a good, tough runner who will have some designed runs, but they want to unlock more in the passing game (and keep him healthy). And he likes the system; Leonard said Denbrock’s offense is as quarterback friendly as advertised.
“A lot of the times he’ll call a play, but that’s just the base play,” Leonard said. “That’s not really what we’re running. He gives the quarterback the keys to the car to be able to do whatever. The quarterback runs the offense.”
He’ll do so with experienced running backs in Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Receiver will be by-committee, headlined by Clemson transfer Beaux Collins and returners Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse. Tight end Mitchell Evans will be a matchup problem for opponents, but the Irish could really use more production out of their receiving corps. It’s been a weak spot for a few years now.
But the biggest question mark is the offensive line. The left side of the line, in particular, will be anchored by a true freshman in Anthonie Knapp and a redshirt sophomore in Sam Pendleton. Redshirt sophomore center Ashton Craig and redshirt sophomore right guard Billy Schrauth return after starting the final three games of last season, and redshirt sophomore Aamil Wagner will start at right guard with just 52 career game snaps.
“We have guys that have (more) in-game experience, but we’ve decided we’re going to play some other guys,” Freeman said. “The point of that is because we believe the guys we’re going to play give us the best chance to win, and that makes me feel good. We’re not settling for, ‘Hey, this guy has more experience.’ We’re choosing who we believe is going to give us the best chance to have success. I know they’re young. Everybody, at one point, is inexperienced, but we have a lot of confidence in what they’re going to be able to do.”
That inexperienced group will be tested for the first time on Saturday night at Kyle Field, the most challenging environment they’ll be in all season. Notre Dame has been blasting crowd noise over the speakers at practice to simulate it, but there’s no way to fully replicate how deafening it is there.
But this team is ready to take on this challenge. The Irish want to see where they are. But more than that, they want to see where they can go.
“I just want us to reach our full potential,” Leonard said. “Everybody wants to take it game-by-game, week-by-week. But with a 12-(team CFP), it kind of leaves the door wide open. You obviously think about that.”