Marcus Freeman Trusts Gut in QB Decision, Sees Growth in Bryce Young & Jordan Botelho
It’s not officially game week until Marcus Freeman takes the podium.
Freeman spoke on Tuesday afternoon, addressing several topics, including the naming of redshirt freshman CJ Carr as his starting quarterback.
Carr beat out redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey after a tight quarterback battle, and Freeman didn’t quite elaborate on why he gave the nod to the Michigan legacy outside of trusting his gut, which has proved to be the correct choice more often than not during his tenure.
”I hesitate saying this is why I made the decision, because what I don't want to do is look at a positive for one guy and a negative for another,” explained Freeman. “I think statistically, it is close to any quarterback competition I've ever been a part of. I was looking for that to be the reason to make a decision, and it wasn't clear. They were both really, really good statistically.
“I just had to make a difficult decision and I had to trust my gut a little bit. What I felt like we needed going into week one versus this opponent, who will be able to handle that decision the right way, I think all those things played into my decision, but that's kind of it. That's a little bit of a gray answer.”
There is little doubt Carr has put in the work to be the starter and will continue to push himself away from the field to be prepared on Sunday night.
It’s in his DNA.
We’ve told you about his work ethic and sneaking into the facility to do walk-throughs by himself, which Freeman is well aware of.
Carr is confident in his preparation and his talents, which might be the biggest concern for Freeman heading into the game.
“He's as intelligent of a football player you'll be around,” Freeman stated. “Works extremely hard in his preparation. He is a guy who just studies the game endlessly to find a way to improve. This isn't saying he's different than some other guys, but I'm talking about CJ Carr.
“He's a guy who's very confident. At some points, maybe a little bit overconfident, but you want that in your quarterback. You want the quarterback to say, I want the ball in my hands every play, when the game is on the line and I believe that I'm going to make the right decision.”
The focus might be on Carr heading into the season-opener, but Freeman was also extremely pleased with how Minchey handled the competition.
On the field, the Tennessee native showed growth and maturity dating back to the spring, which gained the trust of the staff and that could be crucial for the Irish at some point this season.
”His decision-making, his arm strength, his leadership in his own way,” Freeman said of Minchey’s progress. “You talk about a guy that's probably gained more trust from the start of spring ball to now than maybe anybody in our program and he is really, really good.
“He's good enough to be the starting quarterback at Notre Dame. It was a tough decision because, like I said earlier, the statistics were very, very similar and at the end of the day, I had to throw it out the window and make it on other factors.”
Perhaps the most intriguing news of the day came from the defensive end depth chart.
Sophomore Bryce Young is listed as a starter, which means something, but also take it with a grain of salt. Notre Dame can go six deep on the edge, so there will be a heavy rotation at both defensive end spots, especially on Sunday with the Florida heat.
That said, Young has built on his flashes from last fall that saw him on the field for 374 snaps, including 95 in the College Football Playoffs.
“It's been good to see Bryce,” stated Freeman. “Physically, he's gotten bigger. He's a big man. He's got good genetics, but he's a big man. What you've seen over training camp is him really handle his weight and use it in the right way, being a powerful football player, not just an edge rusher.
“He's now really enhanced his game to be a complete defensive end in the run and the pass game. He's getting better and he's a guy that came in as a freshman who was really freaking good and he's continuously getting better.”
The other significant statement was likely enough to intrigue most Notre Dame fans.
”He'll be available this week,” Freeman said of sixth-year defensive end Jordan Botelho.
Botelho tore his patellar tendon in the Purdue game last fall and then suffered a pec injury in May. It’s remarkable Botelho is active and it remains to be seen how much he’ll play against Miami, but if he can steal five snaps, it’d be quite a moment.
Despite his impressive healing power, Freeman has been more impressed with the person Botelho has turned into during his time at Notre Dame.
“Part of maturity is how do you respond to negative things,” explained Freeman. “How to respond to not playing as much as you want early, how do you respond to being injured, how do you attack rehab, how do you make sure you're prepared when you don't even know if you're going to play?
“We didn't expect Jordan to be back for week one. The work he's put in to put himself in a position physically and mentally to help this football team shows you his commitment to this football team, but to put in the work to help this team.”
Freeman was also quick to give additional credit to Botelho’s mother, Valerie Oh, for not only traveling from Hawaii to be there for her son this summer, but also for taking time to meet with the head coach while she was in South Bend.
“I got a chance to spend some time with his mom, who's a Korean woman, and really enjoyed spending time with her,” said Freeman. “I'm going to shout her out. Us Koreans got to stick together a little bit.
“She was here in the summer as he was rehabbing. I think there's a little bit to that nurturing that a mother provides their son or their child. I think all those things helped him. His maturity, the people around him, the belief in his coaches, Coach (Al) Washington, and the belief that we've instilled in him, all factor into him being ready to go.”
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