Notre Dame Sideline Communication Against Ohio State Buckeyes Leaves Room for Improvement

The tide turned scarlet and gray with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.

No. 2 Ohio State held the ball at Notre Dame’s 24-yard line on third down and 11 yards to go. At the time, the Irish led 10-7. 

As nickel cornerback TaRiq Bracy worked through an apparent on-the-field cramp, the Notre Dame coaching staff used the injury timeout to discuss the upcoming play.

Through his headset, Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden relayed a call to his staff and head coach Marcus Freeman. He wanted to blitz both safeties, a call incorporated into Notre Dame’s pregame plan that they had yet to implement.

“It was a zero pressure,” Freeman said. “I agreed. Everybody else agreed.”

Upon the snap, Irish safeties Ramon Henderson and Brandon Joseph shot up from the backend of the defense. 

Before either could penetrate a gap, Buckeye quarterback C.J. Stroud fired a pass toward the middle of the end zone where freshman cornerback Jaden Mickey trailed a steaking Xavier Johnson by a step. 

Johnson hauled in the pass and Ohio State regained the lead, 14-10, and never relinquished it. 

Among all of Notre Dame’s defensive play calls on Saturday, none received more criticism. Trolls ranted about it on Twitter and message boards exploded with outrage. Even the ESPN broadcast crew questioned the call.

Hindsight is 20-20, but even after Freeman and his staff watched the game film and evaluated the team’s play, he remains content with his decision.

“If we could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change the call,” Freeman said. 

According to Freeman, the safeties were a little late breaking toward the line of scrimmage and the nickel needed to get inside leverage. 

That isn’t just on the players. In such a pivotal moment of the game, the coaches also must do a better job of highlighting key responsibilities.

“I’d probably just change the way we communicate and the execution of it,” Freeman said. “But, man, that was a heartbreaker and obviously changes the tide of the game.”

Sideline Communication

Out of Freeman’s nine assistant coaches, only three were with the program last season: cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and safeties coach Chris O’Leary. 

Overall, Freeman left Ohio Stadium pleased with how his offensive and defensive coordinators communicated with their assistant coaches. 

One area where he’d like to see his staff improve is in how they communicate on the sidelines. Freeman says there were multiple instances where they wanted to sub a player into the game but couldn’t find him immediately. 

“We have to improve on our sideline communication,” Freeman said, “and make sure that those guys who have a chance to go in the game are ready to go.”

The onus to improve is on Freeman as well. This time last year, he was Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. He’s still getting used to switching between offensive and defensive channels on the headset. 

At least once against Ohio State, he spent too much time communicating with the defense and neglected to share input with the offense.

“It happened right before halftime,” Freeman said. “I’m on the defensive side of the ball. We’re talking about getting things corrected, what we’re looking for, and by the time I clicked over to tell Tommy, ‘hey, with 30 seconds left, I want to take a shot. I want to be aggressive,’ and it wasn’t communicated in time. 

“Those are different things that I’ve got to clean up and we as a program and as a staff has got to clean up.”

Freeman Laudes Mickey, Morrison

Mickey and fellow cornerback Ben Morrison were the only two freshmen to play on offense or defense against Ohio State. 

Morrison played 29 snaps to Mickey’s 12.

Despite Mickey giving up a touchdown, Freeman was satisfied with how both rookie cornerbacks played. 

“People look at him, and he gave up a touchdown, but there was the pressure that didn’t get home, and there were a couple of other things that we have to make sure get corrected,” Freeman said. “But to have Jaden Mickey and Ben Morrison play and perform at the level they did in that game as true freshmen — wow  — they’re going to be special.”

Is Freeman surprised by that both were able to play against the No. 2 team in the nation? 

No. He trusts his assistant coaches and their abilities to find and recruit talent.

“Coach [Mike] Mickens did a good job of evaluating those two guys, but that’s something Coach Mickens has done in the past,” Freeman said. “He’s the same guy who evaluated Sauce Gardner.”

Gardner is a former three-star recruit who played under both Mickens and Freeman at Cincinnati. In the 2022 NFL Draft, the New York Jets selected Gardner with the No. 4 overall pick. 

Too many cramps for 72 degrees Fahrenheit?

Bracy’s cramp at the end of the third quarter removed the starting nickel from perhaps the game’s most pivotal moments. 

Earlier in the game, linebacker Bo Bauer had to receive fluids through an IV after dealing with a cramp. 

Now cramps are part of football, especially for active defensive players like Bracy and Bauer. But it was a slightly humid 72 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday evening, and those weren’t the only players to suffer from dehydration. 

So did punter Jon Sot.

“I’m like, ‘how does the punter cramp? Holy cow,’” Freeman said. “But I guess that’s what that environment does to you. It adds a little bit of anxiety.”

Under Armour 2022 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Title Performance Polo