Five Notes from Dublin on Notre Dame Football
On Saturday, Notre Dame will open its 2023 campaign against Navy in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
Coaches and players addressed the media on Thursday to preview the matchup.
“Zeke’s Playing”
Center Zeke Correll was limited in practice last week due to an ankle injury, but coach Marcus Freeman confirmed on Thursday that the fifth-year offensive lineman will start on Saturday.
“He’s been practicing all week,” Freeman said. “I think when we met on Monday, I told you we expected him to practice and he practiced and he got better all week. We fully expect Zeke to play and he’s ready to roll.”
The Fighting Irish Occupy Aviva
More than 40,000 Americans will file into Aviva Stadium, which holds a capacity of 51,711. It’s apparently the largest gathering of Americans outside the United States for a single event, per organizers.
I expect most Americans to be Fighting Irish fans based on the overwhelming number of Notre Dame T-shirts and hats I’ve seen in Dublin over the last few days.
I also anticipate most of the local continency in attendance to be pulling for Notre Dame.
Aviva Stadium may be smaller than Notre Dame’s usual home venue, but its elliptical roof could significantly increase the crowd noise.
”I think it’s going to be in our favor,” Freeman said. “For the first time, I had the chance to walk out in that stadium and you see how it’s structured. It looks like it will keep a lot of noise inside. That hopefully will work in our favor.
“We’ve had a lot of people, coaches and players that are over here that have been here all week. I heard from people I’ve talked to that there are Notre Dame fans everywhere over here. It’s exciting and a great reminder of the global impact this university has.”
Navy, Notre Dame Find Motivation in Last Year’s Second Half
Navy shut out the Notre Dame offense in the second half last year and nearly overcame a 19-point deficit.
A media member (who wore a Navy shirt and likely worked with the team) referred to it as one the greatest defensive performances in team history.
While this sounds like hyperbole, the stats may back this statement up. Notre Dame ran 20 plays for 12 yards and quarterback Drew Pyne threw a costly interception.
”I just watched it on the plane,” Freeman said. “Gosh. There were so many teaching plays. You get angry sometimes when you watch it. I truly believe we let our foot off the pedal. That’s the one thing that can’t happen in our program. When we make mistakes and we’re getting beat because of effort, scheme, it’s one thing, but because we weren’t getting great effort.”
The Fighting Irish know they can’t let up no matter the lead, but the Midshipmen also understand what it’s like to dominate Notre Dame for a half.
Now, they’ll try to play at that level for an entire game.
“If we just do what we’ve been doing since spring ball and in fall camp, we’ll come out swinging that way,” Navy defensive end Jacob Busic said. “I know it took until the second half to play to that level of intensity last year.”
Tyree Changes Numbers Again
In the spring, Chris Tyree moved to wide receiver and switched from No. 25 to No. 2. Now he’s changing numbers again.
“The primary reason was for punt return,” Tyree said. “I’m the punt returner and there are two No. 2s on the field at the same time. We actually just realized that earlier this week, so we had to make some changes.”
Now Tyree will don No. 4, his high school jersey number.
“I’ve worn it before, so I figured why not change back to it.”
Sam Hartman is Old
Sam Hartman is about to begin his sixth season of college football.
Navy coach Brian Newberry said Hartman would improve Notre Dame's offense but also joked about the quarterback’s age.
"He's a winner. He's a leader. He adds a different element to their offense, and I think he's just a few years younger than me,” the 51-year-old Newberry said. “He has a way better beard than me. You can't put a price tag on a guy like him and what he does."
On the other hand, you can put a price tag on the Beats by Dre headphones Hartman recently gifted his teammates via an NIL partnership.
http://instagr.am/p/CwOUipJpvmX
A move like this will only endear his teammates to him even more, but even they don’t mind poking fun at his age (watch the clip above).
“He’s really done a good job giving our players a couple of things with a pair of shoes and the Beats headphones,” Freeman said. “I think he’s really gotten those guys in his corner. Sam’s just a great teammate and a really great leader. He pushes those guys, but it’s from a level of trust. They trust him. That’s what I believe to be leadership.
“He’s excited to play. I met with him yesterday kind of one-on-one. I said, ‘Hey, this is your sixth year. You’ve played a lot of games. Let’s relax. Let’s focus on these days building up to the game and go do what you do.’”
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