Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1508769
30 OCT. 7, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On several Notre Dame pre-snap penalties: "A couple of those pre-snap penalties, three of them, I think. Give Duke credit for the crowd noise. We were trying to go on a clap. We were trying to go on first sound. It was pretty loud out there. And that's something that, whenever we travel, we got to be prepared for. So, we got to do a better job there. "Some of the other pre-snap penalties, we got to fix. We got to clean up lining offsides. That happened twice today. Some of the pre-snap penalties, we self-inflicted. I don't know if it's due to the week, I don't know. We have got to fix it, though." On freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse missing the game: "It was a hamstring [injury]. … He was going to try to warm up and see. He's a tough kid and he got out there for warm-ups, and there was just no way he was going to be able to do it. We were talking about maybe using him in the red zone, but he just couldn't. With how hard he plays, the way he runs routes, it wasn't what was best for him or for the team. "I believe he'll be back [for Week 6 at Louisville]. I believe [junior wide receiver Jayden Thomas] will be back. JT was run- ning today in our pregame practice. Just not ready to compete in a game yet." On freshman wide receiver Braylon James not playing despite Greathouse and Thomas' injuries: "Obviously, with injuries, with three guys now in that room, we didn't have much depth. Braylon James is close, he's getting there, but he just wasn't ready today. "What you see over the course of the game, you can't rotate wideouts, they get tired. I'm so proud of the gutsy perfor- mance that they did have out there, for Rico [Flores Jr.] to catch that two-point conversion, they continue to battle." On what he would have preferred junior running back Audric Estimé do on his game-winning touchdown run: "We were drawing it up to really run the ball, get the clock down, call timeout and kick the game-winning field goal. It's a great coaching point because we practice that we probably should go down, right? "People will go, 'Hey, don't take points off the board.' You probably should go down right there at the 1-yard line, kick a field goal from the 1-yard line and win the game that way. Great teaching opportunities, but, man, I'm glad he scored. I'm glad he scored and I'm glad we won." NOTRE DAME GRADUATE STUDENT QUARTERBACK SAM HARTMAN … On winning at Wallace Wade Stadium: "It's cool for me, because this is one of the last places I saw my oldest brother [Demitri Allison, who passed away in 2015] and the last time I saw him play, back in 2014. … Just standing out there, it's a lot of emotions that you can feel." On waiting to celebrate until he checked on Duke ju- nior quarterback Riley Leonard, who suffered an ap- parent leg injury: "I'm just thinking about him. There's nothing I can say to change the way he feels. It's going to be a long week, and hopefully anything that he had happen to him injury-wise is minor. "I don't know what he's feeling, but I've been there and it's a dark place you can go to. He played a hell of a game, he's a hell of a player and he's got to keep going." NOTRE DAME GRADUATE STUDENT DEFENSIVE TACKLE HOWARD CROSS III … On the vibe at halftime: "It was a game. They're do- ing great this season, right? They're a great team, so it's not shocking that it's that close. Every good team has a chance to beat any team. "And if you're playing another good team, it just comes down to who makes the least amount of mistakes." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR TIGHT END MITCHELL EVANS … On stepping up with half the wide receiver room in- jured: "Obviously, our guys have to step up, same with the running backs. I think we all kind of did that. Like, [sopho- more tight end] Holden [Staes] was taking on a different kind of blocking role than what he's done before in the past and executed. "And we were doing a bunch of 22 personnel with two run- ning backs, two tight ends, because we had to." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR RUNNING BACK AUDRIC ESTIMÉ … On where his game-winning touchdown ranks among his football memories: "I'm not going to lie. I never put a game out like that. I never scored with a couple seconds to go. So I think that'd be first right now." — Jack Soble FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Junior running back Audric Estimé said his game-winning 30-yard touchdown run is his new favorite football memory. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP