Notre Dame’s defense has reached the point where head coach Marcus Freeman is openly challenging the group.
The message was about as animated and passionate as one can get in a press conference.
“I get excited when I talk during tough times,” explained Freeman. “There's two options, fight or flight. The guys who flight blame other people. ‘It's the call. It's his fault. It's this coach's fault, or it's that player's fault. We gave up a big play and that corner should have covered.’ That's the flight mode. You deflect and blame other people.
“The fight mode is like, ‘Gosh, man, call man again. Call man again. I promise you, my man's not going to catch the ball. I'm going to play with the right technique, and I'm going to refuse to let my man catch the ball. I got to coach this better. He should have known that this is the technique to play with. Ok, I got to change his technique.’ That's the fight mode.”
As is often the case, Freeman’s words carried from the podium into team meetings and the message stuck with linebacker Jaiden Ausberry.
“We need to keep improving, keep getting better,” stated Ausberry. “It's never going to be perfect. There's always room for improvement in every area. As a unit, we've got to keep improving, keep our head down, keep coming out here getting better every day. I feel like if we keep doing that, we'll look back and be like, ‘Dang, look how far we came.’”
There is positive news around The Gug this week as the Irish registered the first win of the season last weekend. No one said it, but there was likely relief in getting the first W on the board, which makes film, meetings, and practice easier to attack.
“I think it does,” Ausberry said of the mood allowing practice to feel better. “We didn't want to give up that many points. We never want to give up that many points. We never want to give up any points, period. We've just got to keep fixing our mistakes, keep getting better at things we're doing well, and then the things that we're not doing well, we've got to keep getting even better at those too.”
Freeman also made it clear he wanted his defense to play with more velocity and attack holes in zone coverage.
The message was primarily intended for the secondary, but the Irish linebackers can also have an impact.
“I think as a unit, we can all play faster,” Ausberry explained. “We can all play better. We always talk about clarity equals velocity. I feel like the more clarity we have, which is something that we gain in practice, the more violence and velocity we'll have come game time.”
Ausberry was a key piece to Notre Dame’s run to the National Title game a year ago. The Louisiana native knows what it takes to get to that level and believes effort is something the Irish defense can build around.
“We've been playing hard,” stated Ausberry. “That's never a question with us. We're always playing hard, always keeping our head down. It's never an effort thing. I feel like if we just keep coming to practice, keep going hard every play, every day, then we'll get where we want to go.”
One change the Irish did make last weekend at the second level was adding true freshman Madden Faraimo to the rotation. Faraimo came up with a big pass breakup that led to a Christian Gray interception, which should get him more playing time.
Ausberry wasn’t surprised with Faraimo’s performance and he’s helping the freshman get up to speed.
“It actually wasn't surprising to me at all because he had three picks last week or the week before that, so it was only a matter of time until he had a PBU or pick,” Ausberry said. “He's been doing really well. He's getting better every day. He's feeling way more comfortable out there as the days and weeks go on, and it's really exciting to see where he's headed.”
As it relates to his own game, Ausberry added weight in the offseason and he’s felt the benefits of it through three games.
“I definitely do feel a difference,” said Ausberry. “I feel a lot stronger, a lot more stable, a lot better blitzing even in the run game. I wouldn't say it was a burden last year, but obviously, it was harder being 215 pounds at linebacker.
“It does feel a lot better. I still feel faster and more explosive. I feel like I'm still moving the same way in space. You can't go wrong with it.”
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