Notre Dame Notebook: Marcus Freeman Talks Steve Angeli, Running Backs, Urgency And More

Notre Dame football coach discusses backup QB Steve Angeli's development, Audric Estime's recent fumbles, Logan Diggs, JD Bertrand, and more

A 44-21 win over UNLV pushed Notre Dame back above the .500 mark at 4-3, and now Marcus Freeman’s first team is headed into the toughest stretch of the season. Three top-16 teams await the Fighting Irish in their final five games, beginning with a road trip to No. 16 Syracuse this Saturday.

Freeman touched on several topics at his latest press conference Monday at Notre Dame Stadium.

The Point Of Emphasis

Last week’s team point of emphasis was “urgency”. Freeman has had different focal points for his team throughout the season, from “finish” to “execution”. It was obvious after a lethargic loss to Stanford that his team needed more urgency when they played UNLV last week and that emphasis continues against a better opponent this week.

"As I told them, it’s not urgency to start the game, now it’s urgency throughout the entirety of the game,” Freeman remarked. "We were up pretty big at halftime (against UNLV) and then you look at the second half, we end up tying them. To me, the sign of a dominant football team is a team that no matter what the series is, no matter what the score is, you’re able to really be effective in what you’re doing. So, we have to continue to be a mature football team and continue to progress towards improvement....to progress towards being a dominant football team.”

Getting Steve Angeli Ready

Steve Angeli took his first career snaps Saturday while Drew Pyne was being evaluated on the sideline after a helmet to helmet hit at the goal line. Angeli took a pair of snaps and handed off twice. He was on the field on the next play as well when tight end Mitchell Evans took a snap and ran for a first down.

Pyne came back in the game, so Angeli was not called upon to do any more during that game, but how ready is the true freshman if something would happen to Pyne?

"He doesn’t have an option,” said Freeman. "We don’t have an option. If something happened to Drew Pyne, Steve’s going in the game and we have the utmost confidence in him.

"One thing I spent a lot of time with (offensive coordinator) Coach (Tommy) Rees is, what is our package we have for Steve Angeli,” Freeman continued. "We’re not going to ask him to do everything we ask Drew Pyne to do, but we have him enough that he has a chance to be successful, but also make sure it’s small enough that we’re not asking him to be confused and do things that he’s not capable of doing.”

The Irish staff seems confident in Angeli to be ready if his number is called, partly because that's exactly what Angeli is .... confident.

"He’s a confident kid,” Freeman continued. “That’s important. You have to have confidence as you take the field.”

Logan Diggs Goes Off

Logan Diggs had a career day against the Rebels with 28 carries for 130 yards. His previous best in both carries and yards was 17 for 93 yards against BYU two games prior.

Diggs took the role of the lead back against UNLV after Audric Estime, who had his own 100+ yard day earlier this season against North Carolina, was benched earlier in the game after a fumble. Diggs is now the team’s second-leading rusher with 346 yards.

While his numbers are accumulating, Freeman says to expect to continue to see three backs, with Chris Tyree also in the mix, to share carries in the Irish backfield. “We obviously take pride in using three running backs and sharing the bulk of those ball carries,” Freeman began.

“We’ve got to be a team that continues to use multiple running backs,” he continued. “We’re not going to be a one running back team. The teams we play, the physicality, the amount of times we rush the ball, you’ve got to use multiple running backs.”

Audric Estime Needs To Keep The Ball

Audric Estime’s 435 rushing yards lead the team through seven games, but his unfortunate third fumble of the season against UNLV also leads the team. He has now fumbled three times in four games and was sent to the bench for the remainder of the game after his second quarter fumble gave the Rebels the ball at the Irish 42.

“Nobody has lost faith in Audric Estime,” Freeman said. “But he understands that when you have that ball your job is to hand it to the official (after the play is over). We cannot put the ball on the ground, and that’s something that he understands. Obviously, he didn’t intend for that to happen, but we’ve got to make sure it doesn’t happen.

Estime’s first fumble came in the North Carolina game. It was the first time it had ever happened and Estime said he lost sleep over it. It’s now become an unfortunate pattern that the big sophomore must get past.

“Not well,” Freeman said when asked how Estime is handling the fumbles. “He’s tough on himself, as are we on him. He has high expectations for himself. He understands the reality of how important it is to make sure that we are in possession of that ball when we have a chance to have it in our hands. He understands the importance of that, but at the same time, we’ve got to find ways to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Nearly Another Bertrand Targeting Call

JD Bertrand has already been flagged for targeting twice this season. The penalties came in the second half of games against Cal and North Carolina, which meant he was ejected from those games and also had to sit out the first half of the next game each time.

Bertrand was initially flagged for targeting on a hit at the goal line against UNLV, but the replay booth overturned the call on the field. Freeman has a defensive background and he was asked how he and defensive coordinator Al Golden can prevent Bertrand from continually being in the same predicament with his penchant for high hits.

“I've coached linebackers for a long time and you can’t change physicality,” Freeman explained. “You can’t change intent. He’s a physical football player and that’s what makes JD Bertrand a good football player. You try to create habits in practice where his aiming point may be lower, but that’s hard, because receivers can go to catch the ball and they bend and all of the sudden that aiming point is right helmet to helmet.

“So, you try to teach him to make sure when you tackle you tackle with your face up,” Freeman continued. “You know, tackle with your face mask and not your head down. But it’s so easy to do. And those are habits, with him being a physical football player, at times putting his head down is something he’s done for a while. We’ve got to continue to get his face up, protect himself, protect the opponent, but it’s so much easier said than done.”

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