Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1528160
28 OCT. 26, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On Notre Dame falling behind early and winning com- fortably again: "I told them, 'It's life, man.' I showed them a race of a girl running 110-meter or 100-meter hurdles. She fell over the second hurdle and gets back up and wins. It's like, 'That's life.' That's a week of prep. "It's a game. It's a season. Like, you're gonna hit some hur- dles. You gotta get up and sprint through the finish line. And that's what they did." On faking a punt and a field goal in the fourth quarter: "We knew going into this game we had to steal some posses- sions because they do a really good job in terms of time of pos- session. I think we had four series in the first half. We didn't have a chance to run it — the fake — in the first half because I was going to run it. It was more about trying to steal a posses- sion than it was something we saw in their punt return unit. So we did that. "The field goal fake was something we practiced. We thought they were pretty aggressive on the field goal block unit. It wasn't perfect. We found a way to get the first down. But that was the mindset going to the game. We had to steal some possessions." On junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison, out for the season with a hip injury: "He still continues to lead. He was watching film, giving our guys coaching points in the hospital. I mean, that's the type of guy he is, sending them film — really the young guys, Karson [Hobbs] and Leonard [Moore], like coaching them up. That's what type of leader and person he is." On senior quarterback Riley Leonard going airborne on third down: "You don't love to see your quarterback without at least one foot on the ground, but he's a competitor. That's what makes him special. He makes plays with his legs. He's an improviser. "He's a tough, tough dude, and that's what we're going to need out of him to continue to get better moving forward." On if he feels like Notre Dame's increasingly young team is maturing: "The people are obviously, at times, in- experienced, but the team is becoming more and more expe- rienced together, right? That's when you take a big-picture look at the performance. Like this team is continuously get- ting better. I challenged them all week, 'You got to believe that there's another level.' "If you believe that, you'll be willing to put in the work." SENIOR QUARTERBACK RILEY LEONARD … On playing well after his first-quarter interception: "As a quarterback, it's very easy to get greedy and want to make the explosive play, but throughout my career, I've learned that just taking what the defense gives me is what wins you ball- games. "Ever since then, I was like, 'All right, settle down, trust your eyes, trust your coaching and get the job done.' We did a pretty good job of that since then." On the challenge of taking what the defense gives him: "That's a great question. There are a lot of different factors when it comes to that. I think the biggest is you throw a certain ball in practice five times. We ran that play [that resulted in the interception] five times in practice and I threw that ball five times to Beaux [Collins]. Well, that doesn't mean anything. That's completely irrelevant to what's gonna happen in the game. "So pre-snap, I'm thinking, 'OK, muscle memory, do what we did in practice.' If I have just an inch, pull the trigger. Well, that inch closed pretty quickly. I think it just came down to practice and understanding that in the game, it could be com- pletely different." FRESHMAN CORNERBACK LEONARD MOORE … On Morrison sending him film from the hospital bed: "It means a lot, for sure. Like he's in surgery, he's going through it but he's taking his time to talk to me. He sent me a message before the game that he has his trust in me and every- thing like that. So that was just good to see." On his maturity: "I think it just comes from me being a level-headed individual. I know my assignment. I know I just have to execute my assignment to take care of it. And then just always being locked in and focused on what I have to get done, I feel like it helps me out." On his level of confidence as he becomes a freshman starter: "You definitely gotta be confident as a cornerback es- pecially. What Ben told me is, 'Don't think about it like you're a freshman, but just think about you going out there and playing football. Don't give yourself any excuses. Just go out there and guard your man.'" FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Senior quarterback Riley Leonard bounced back from throwing an intercep- tion by completing 12 consecutive passes for 162 yards. PHOTO BY MATT RUDOLPH