Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526111
30 SEPT. 7, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On Notre Dame's sports performance staff getting the Irish ready to play: "Our team was prepared. They were ready. Like I said, there weren't many guys that went down. I don't know if we had any guys cramping, maybe one. I don't know. "We had one guy who had to get some fluids, but these guys were ready and prepared for a battle, and that's what it was. It was a four-quarter battle. I'm proud of this group." On graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter icing the game with 30 seconds left: "Mitch was big time. Mitch was clutch. There's a lot of thought going into that field goal, whether to go for it on fourth or kick the field goal. "Ultimately, we made the decision to kick it, and it was clutch. That sealed the game." On senior quarterback Riley Leonard: "He is a com- petitor. He wants the ball in his hands — putting his shoulder down, and he had a bruise on his hands. He took some hits, but he's a competitor and wants the ball in his hands. I've got a lot of confidence in a guy like Riley Leonard at the end of the game — put the ball in his hands and make good decisions and lead this offense to victory." O n so p h o m o re w i d e re - ceiver Jordan Faison's status after leaving mid-game due to injury: "I don't know much. He said it was an ankle. [Faison] said, 'Coach, I'm good. I'm done for this game, but I'm good.' "So, I have confidence he'll be back. I don't know what the time- table is." NOTRE DAME SENIOR QUARTERBACK RILEY LEONARD … On facing Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko: "I feel like there's a game within the game when playing him. Obviously, the third-down packages are always big, and he got me a few times with the protection. "He drew up some really good stuff, so I have to go back and watch it." On the character of the guys he'd go to war with in the fourth quarter being a factor in his decision to transfer to Notre Dame: "I only took one re- cruiting visit to any school when I was in the portal, and that was Notre Dame. And what sold me was the dinner. I went out to eat with 10, 15 of the guys, and I was just sold that this was the right place for me. "I think that everybody has a purpose for being here. One is to win for this great school, then two, it's to get to higher levels of football. Everybody's on the same page and everybody wants to win and better themselves as a football player, and that's a culture that I want to be a part of." NOTRE DAME GRADUATE STUDENT KICKER MITCH JETER … On kicking a 46-yard field goal, his third make of the day, to seal the game: "It wasn't really me talking to [the coaches], honestly. I let the coaches make the decision and try to go out there and execute. "But yeah, we were trying to ice the game there, with either pinning them deep with a punt or kicking the field goal to go up two scores. So that was kind of our conversation there. Blessed to have the opportunity to go out there and execute." NOTRE DAME SOPHOMORE SAFETY ADON SHULER … On the Notre Dame defense shutting Texas A&M down in its final three possessions: "Yeah, that's our mindset. Going into last year, the coaches said, 'That's us,' and we have to bring that to this season as well. And that's what we're trying to do." TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH MIKE ELKO … On losing to the Irish: "Hats off to Notre Dame. They came in here and they beat us. There was really no two ways about it." On facing Leonard: "It wasn't fun. I knew it wouldn't be. He made a bunch of big-time plays. He made a play on third-and- five. He made some runs on the last drive. He did what he did and made enough plays to win the football game. "I told him I loved him after the game, and I'll be rooting for that kid for the rest of his life." On Notre Dame's final drive: "Ultimately, at the end of the day, we had 'em third-and-5, backed up, and had a chance to make a play to get off the field and didn't do it. "That's the turning point of the game. We've got 'em third-and-5 at the 20-yard line and we don't get 'em off the field." FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Senior quarterback Riley Leonard put his toughness on display against Texas A&M and engineered an eight-play, 85-yard game- winning drive late in the fourth quarter. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER