Notre Dame Culture & WR Depth To Be Tested in Bounce Back Clash at Duke
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman didn’t hide his emotions following Saturday’s loss to Ohio State. The second-year head coach did much of the same on Thursday as he was confident his team had moved past last weekend and is dialed in on beating No. 17 Duke on Saturday night.
“We've had two really, really good practices, spirited practices,” stated Freeman. “Attention to detail and those things that we look for that tell you if we are lacking focus it will show up in practice. I'm really pleased with the way these guys really focused on really improving the way we practice. Improving our overall team and that's the message been like. Every week, we have to get better.”
How does Notre Dame get better? It starts on the practice field and also away from The Gug as the players need to focus on themselves over what is going on around them.
“We gotta understand where we're at and what we have to do to get better and then go do it on the practice field,” explained Freeman. “The other part of that is continuing to preach the right message to them and continue to say the right things to him because there is noise everywhere, right?
“We gotta make sure that the noise we're saying and the message we're driving as a coaching staff is so loud that our players really focus on that and understand it in the midst of hearing other things and paying attention other things. So I feel really confident going into Thursday where the mindset of this football team is.”
Graduate student DJ Brown has been through tough losses and has experienced the ups and downs of moving on from a loss.
It’s never easy to flush a loss at Notre Dame, but Brown did admit it was easier this week as they know Duke is more than capable of pulling the upset if they aren’t locked in.
“100 percent,” Brown said of this week being easier to focus. “It’s going to be another big game for us and another challenge. They have a good quarterback and good skill positions as well. Every week is a challenge. It’s hard to win in college football. We’re excited and ready for the opportunity.”
WR ROOM DEPTH
Chansi Stuckey’s room lost junior Deion Colzie for the foreseeable future as he’ll be out following a knee scope, which was set to be done on Thursday.
Classmate Jayden Thomas could also miss Saturday’s game as he aggravated his hamstring against Ohio State and has yet to practice this week.
”I'll still say questionable,” Freeman said of Thomas. “Probably questionable/doubtful because he hasn't practiced yet this week. He's been running just trying to see how his hamstring is going but he hasn't been able to go full speed so not ruling him out yet, but we gotta see what he can do today and maybe a little bit tomorrow.”
If Thomas can’t go, it would likely pave the way for Notre Dame’s leading receiver to have a significant role against Duke. Senior Chris Tyree has played just 79 snaps on the year, but has recorded nine receptions for 241 yards and two touchdowns.
Freeman also expects freshman Jaden Greathouse and Rico Flores Jr. to continue to raise their level of play this week.
“He’s had an increased role this week and is a guy who can play outside if we need him to,” Freeman said of Tyree. “Those freshmen have all done a really good job progressing - Rico and Jaden Greathouse and Braylon (James) from where he started to where he’s at now has done a really, really good job.”
Could James become the third freshman to crack the receiver rotation? It doesn’t sound like it will be this week, but Freeman is pleased with the Texas native’s development this fall.
”Braylon has been practicing with the offense,” stated Freeman. “He’s continuously doing a really good job of getting better and better. We'll see if his role increases, but I think we still have a plan to use those guys that we've been playing a lot. We'll see if that determines if Braylon is going to play at all or not.”
Offensive coordinator Gerad Parker also believes James is on the right path to earning playing time even if it’s not this week.
“Braylon is still growing,” explained Parker. “He’s in the growing process. It’s a bumpy road to getting better and he’s done a great job. He’s really taking steps and improving in practice the last couple weeks. He’s continued to mature and be in that process as he learns how to take meaningful reps. We’ll continue to help him get there.”
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