Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1466176
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2022 13 UNDER THE DOME always welcome back here. They're the reason why we're in this position. "… That's what you want to create. That network of guys paying [everything] forward to our current players. I think they like hearing there's an open door, but I don't need somebody to come back and say thank you. Just come back. Thank me by coming back and being around our players." — Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman on the alumni presence at Notre Dame's pro day March 25 "The dude is young. [Notre Dame director of ath- letics Jack] Swarbrick developed a list of questions to determine whether he thought Freeman could handle the job. 'It was looking for an awareness, which he demonstrated phenomenally well, of what he didn't know,' Swarbrick said. 'The thing that would have upset that interview was getting bull---- answers that he did know.' "For instance, Swarbrick asked him, 'We had a program where the offensive and defensive sides of the ball didn't interact at all. You helped produce that. Why? And are you going to keep it?' "'No,' Freeman said. 'I'm just the opposite. I didn't like it. I want to bring it together.'" — On3 senior writer Ivan Maisel on Freeman in his story 'New Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman knows what he doesn't know' "I don't know when it's going to happen, but with this staff, this team — you're going to win it all. You're going to pick up the trophy." — Former LSU national champion head coach Ed Orgeron while speaking to the Notre Dame football team during his visit to South Bend in April "Oh my gosh. I'm actually going to be coaching on the sideline at the stadium that Knute Rockne built." — Tennessee State head coach Eddie George during a press conference announcing his team getting the chance to play the Fighting Irish on Sept. 2, 2023 "I felt like I did everything that I could at Notre Dame, and they felt like they did everything they could for me. I felt like we had both got to a point where this is what they could do, right? This is what I did. And we couldn't get past that. OK? And so here we are." — Former Irish head coach Brian Kelly on why he left Notre Dame for LSU (Associated Press) "I think Brian Kelly has an awesome track record. I think Freeman is just extremely different. He's much more hands-on and much more involved with the recruits and the day-to-day communication with recruits. I think you look at those guys that have successful recruiting classes, those guys get it as head coaches how important it is to be involved. I think you see that in Marcus Freeman. Recruits see it and gravitate toward it." — On3 national director of recruiting Chad Simmons on Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman "There's been more inclusion of the older guys than I've ever seen, and I think it's a good move. It's nice to include everybody. I told Marcus when I saw him that I appreciated that, and he said that he really wants the guys to be around the younger kids and be mentors, a sounding board and someone in the network going forward." — Former Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer on Marcus Freeman (around 300 Irish football alumni were expected to be on hand for the Blue-Gold Game April 23) "It's a group that tasted the NCAA Tournament and can talk about, 'What about a Final Four? What about playing all the way to the Final Four?' That's realistic. If you haven't tasted it, that's not realistic locker room talk, and I can't talk about that. Cormac Ryan and Dane Goodwin will talk about that a lot all summer, and that's a good thing." — Notre Dame men's basketball head coach Mike Brey "They built this place, right? For any one person to come in here and act like this is about one person, you're crazy. It's about the people that have come, led and built Notre Dame to the place it is. This is their home and will always be their home. I want to make sure that's clearly communicated. They are THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT TOP TWEETS PHOTOS COURTESY NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL TWITTER PHOTOS COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH TWITTER "I felt the energy in the build- ing. It just felt different. I wanted to be a part of this. I've got one more year. Why look back on this in 30 years and think, 'I had one more year. Why didn't I go for it?'" — Graduate student wide re - ceiver Avery Davis on returning to Notre Dame for a sixth sea- son (Varsity House podcast)