Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 OCT. 12, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On the Irish running three plays and punting on their last offensive drive: "I think five minutes left in the game, and they had no timeouts. We said we have to be smart. If it gets to third down, let's be aggressive and try to throw it. If [Mitchell Evans] wasn't open, we said, 'Hey, let's keep the ball in bounds. Do not throw it away. We have to utilize those 40 seconds. Every second matters.' "That's the thing you learn as a head coach, is that a play that happens with four minutes left in the game is going to af- fect the end of the game." On if senior quarterback Riley Leonard was playing hurt in the fourth quarter: "He's banged up. We ran him. We knew we were going to have to run him. Tough, tough guy. He is tough. Sacrifices his body. "I think he might have got kneed in his thigh or something like that. I don't know exactly what it was. He said, 'I'm good to go. I want the ball in my hands.' "It's the competitor he is. He's a tough, tough person, man." On sophomore vyper Boubacar Traore's injury status: "Lower leg, knee injury, I think. Don't know. They just told me he was out for the game. Hopefully, I'll have more information here soon." SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER JADEN GREATHOUSE … On his 34-yard touchdown reception: "We just got a great look that we wanted for the play, and we ran it to perfec- tion. Beaux [Collins] did a great job of clearing out that safety and making sure that I was wide open. "It took all of us to get me open on that play and something we've been working all week, and we were just able to execute during the game." On the keys to a more complete game offensively: "I think it really just comes down to starting fast and remaining consistent throughout the game. "I think we do a really good job of coming out and striking them from the first possession, and it's just a matter of con- tinually doing that throughout the entire course of the game and not giving them a second to breathe." SOPHOMORE LINEBACKER DRAYK BOWEN … On the defense cutting down Louisville's explosive plays in the second half: "We just kind of settled down. They had a lot of stuff that they were trying to throw at us and see what would stick. We came out at halftime, we got everything settled down, we talked through a couple different plays that would work here and there, and we just went out and executed." On staying locked in despite injuries on defense: "Those are big pieces of the defense. At the end of the day, everybody's gotta be able to play. It's next-man-up mentality. "[Benjamin Morrison] is a huge piece, and then Leonard [Moore] came in, he played great today. Junior [Tuihalamaka], he and Boubie [Boubacar Traore] rotate in on practices a lot, so we know he can do it. It's just being able to know the next guy's ready." SENIOR QUARTERBACK RILEY LEONARD … On his apparent injury in the second quarter: "The play I went out, got the wind out of me, which is kind of soft. It's weird saying that now, 'You gotta go out for a play, got the wind knocked out of you.' "But hey, that was terrible. I couldn't breathe. It was really no problem after a couple minutes." On the eventual game-winning touchdown drive: "No better feeling as a quarterback than when Coach [Mike Denbrock] just calls a play, and you know it's gonna work. We caught a couple there, they weren't doing a great job in-and- outing the rub route, so whenever Jayden Harrison popped open, exactly what we expected and anticipated. "And then for the throwback screen to work, we practiced it all week. And what a great time to call it. Just worked out per- fectly. They were in the perfect defense against it. Shout out to the coaches there. Those are easy plays to execute, and we did." On if this game was the most confident he's felt: "Ab- solutely, this was the most confident I've felt. I think it's because of my preparation. It's all due to the coaches. I think we're starting to understand each other and understand the plays that I really like." GRADUATE STUDENT SAFETY XAVIER WATTS … On where the defense is at through five games: "I think we're in a good spot. We have a couple guys down. That comes with football, but we have the bye week coming in. A lot of guys have to get healthy. "I think we're in a good spot, but we have so much more to improve on. Little things like tackling, coverage, getting off the field on third down when we need to." — Jack Soble FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Jaden Greathouse had the second-most catches (4) he's had in a game this year, and posted season highs in receiving yards (61) and touchdowns (1) versus Louisville. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER