Marcus Freeman Talks Notre Dame Success, Schedule, Future and More With Joel Klatt

Here are a few of Freeman's responses from Big Noon Conversations: 

Freeman On The Importance Of Being Independent

"I think it goes so far beyond the football program," Freeman explained. "We spend time talking about the history of Notre Dame football and how it was built and the reason we're independent. We were looking for teams to play and we were willing to drive or take a train from coast to coast in order to find an opponent. That's how the Notre Dame football program was built. That's why we will want to keep that independence as much as we can; that's what makes this place special."

Freeman On Playing USC Every Year

"I think back to my high school years," Freeman stated. "I was from Ohio, played at a high school in Huber Heights and our biggest rival was Centerville. The guys that came from Centerville are guys like AJ Hawk, Kirk Herbstreit and Mike Nugent, but that was a huge rivalry. Then I went to Ohio State and played Michigan every year. The thing about rivalry games, nobody cares about what the record is. You win that game, you view that season as a success. So, for us, the one that is continuously brought up is the rivalry with USC. 

Before I ever got to Notre Dame, there's memories I have in my head of great plays in the USC versus Notre Dame rivalry and I think it's important to continue that rivalry. If they ask my opinion, I want to continuously play USC every year. It takes both parties to tango, right? It has to fit both institutions, they're in a conference and we're not. When do we play? All of those things come into consideration, but I think it's important we continue to have this rivalry." 

Freeman On Preparing For A Big Season Opener

"I hope the mental approach to the season doesn't change no matter who your opponent is," Freeman said. "I was asked that as we were getting ready to play Navy in Dublin, Ireland. Somebody asked me 'is it more difficult to motivate them to play Navy than it is to play Ohio State?' and I said 'I hope not'. You get 12 guaranteed opportunities, that's all we get. To overlook any opponent is a disservice to the game of football, right? For me, I look at that big game and see what I need to do to prepare that team for that big one.

Whoever our starting quarterback is going to be inexperienced. How do we create as many high pressure situations in training camp so that they're not panicking down in South Florida getting ready to play Miami. It plays with my mind how we're going to prepare this group depending on what personnel we have and what opponent we're playing."