Marcus Freeman provides an update before Notre Dame plays NC State

The full injury report and other updates as Notre Dame gets set to take on the NC State Wolfpack

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What is the story about?

On Thursday, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman took some questions from the media to help provide some updates for the Irish before they take on the NC State Wolfpack on Saturday afternoon.

INJURY REPORT

Notre Dame will go into another game with both wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and defensive back DeVonta Smith listed as OUT. With Greathouse out, we will see more of Will Pauling and possibly Logan Salidate. At the nickel, we have already seen freshman Dallas Golden there, and he was listed as the started to start the week.

KICK IT

Maybe one of the biggest question marks going into this game for the Irish is because of an injury. Kicker Noah Burnette has been struggling with a hip issue, but Freeman seemed somewhat confident that Burnette will be ready this week.

“Yeah, right now, (fifth-year) Noah [Burnette] will be ready to go. He will kick today, and we plan on Noah being our kicker, and if he’s not, then probably go (with freshman) Erik [Schmidt]. Right now, we already plan on Erik probably being a longer-distance (kicker), depending on where Noah’s line will be, but Noah will be our kicker.”

THE CHALLENGE OF BIG BOY BAILEY AND HOLLYWOOD

NC State has weapons on offense and in particular their tall and stout quarterback, CJ Bailey, and running back Hollywood Smothers (which is a top tier name). Freeman spoke about what stands out about each player.

“Yeah, I mean, you said what I see on film, right? The length of the quarterback and his ability to throw it and spread it out. I know the tight end has the most receptions, but he does a good job of spreading the ball and making good decisions.”

“And Smothers is a real problem. He is a challenge. He is really good. He’s got great contact balance. He makes you miss (with) a really good spin move, and so we have to continue to pursue the ball. There’s going to be missed tackles. In any game, there’s missed tackles, but we have to make sure that we’re gang-tackling Smothers. That we’re relentlessly pursuing the football and we’re physical when we get there, and we’re taking good and proper angles.”

“And with Bailey, you’ve got to try to make him uncomfortable with pre-snap reads. You’ve got to try to get pressure on him, and you can’t let him escape vertically. You can’t let him escape through the B-gap and run vertically to extend plays as a passer.”

CONTINUING A LEGACY

One of the bright spots of the Notre Dame defense is the emergence of freshman safety, Tae Johnson. The Fort Wayne native comes from North Side High School, which as far as I know, hasn’t sent a player to Notre Dame in the last 40 years (at least). We can thank a fantastic recruiting pitch by Marcus Freeman, but also Irish legend and fellow Fort Wayne resident Jaylon Smith. With Tae Tae at Notre Dame, not only do we get another of the very best in an important Indiana city, but the safety legacy that Notre Dame has been building for well over a decade now, continues to look strong.“

“Yeah, I think, maybe, you look at Tae, where he grew up, where he’s from. I don’t know if he grew up understanding the value of what a place like Notre Dame can provide you. He knows about Notre Dame football, but there’s so much to this place that provides value to the rest of your life. That was important for me to make sure Tae understood in this recruitment.”

“You could use examples like Jaylon Smith — who grew up similar — maybe went to a different type of school, but grew up in a similar area, and look at the success he’s having off the field as well as what he did on the field.“

“So the ability to get Tae to understand that, ‘Hey, everything you want football-wise can be achieved here. But you have to understand the value this place provides you off the field and the value this place provides you for the rest of your life.’”

“And so you convinced him of that, but I think he’s starting to see that now. He’s starting to understand that being here. But he really won’t understand it until probably he’s out of here. And when you look back and say, ‘Wow, I’m in a position I’m in or have the opportunities I have because I chose a place like Notre Dame.’”