A week ago, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman wanted to see his team's maturity.
The Irish were coming off a physical Sunday night road game at Lambeau Field and had to prepare for a unique Rice offense on a very short week.
Freeman challenged his team physically by holding a regular Bloody Tuesday practice less than 48 hours after a game. He then found other ways to test his team's maturity throughout the week.
Those questions were answered all week long, and it was capped by Adon Shuler forcing a fumble for a Boubacar Traore scoop-and-score on the second play of the game.
“They have really good routines,” explained Freeman. “You're able to challenge them schematically. You're able to really meet with them, maybe do a little extra. Some of those older guys are meeting with the younger guys. I think that helps tremendously where you have to make a decision where is this too much, or they can't handle it?”
Perhaps the most significant detail Freeman learned about his team over the weekend happened on Friday.
Notre Dame's defensive staff changed the game plan 24 hours before kickoff, and the defense didn't bat an eye.
“A great example is we kind of tinkered with the game plan defensively Friday,” stated Freeman. “There were some additions we had to make on Friday. We thought we needed a little bit more to give them a different look. For a group that's not mature, you don't do that. You just say, ‘OK, hey, we got what we got.’
“A group that's mature, that could handle that on Friday, study a little bit more Friday night and do it again in a walkthrough on Saturday, it gives you a competitive advantage when you have a mature team.”
That's the kind of response Freeman was looking for.
The Notre Dame head coach also has a unique understanding of his team because of his hands-on approach. He pays attention to the details of his program throughout the offseason and maintains a pulse on his players, something not every head coach is able to do.
That helps explain some of Freeman's aggressive decisions on game day, but it also allows him to turn more of the program over to the players themselves.
So what stood out to Freeman during the offseason that told him this was a mature team?
“Leadership,” Freeman said of what makes a mature team. “The ability to challenge each other when there are actions that are below the standard and you're not afraid to challenge your teammates. You're actually vulnerable enough to uplift them when you probably want to yell at them. That's what I've seen from the leaders on this team. When guys need to be challenged, they challenge them and when guys need to be uplifted, they're encouraging.
“That's when I say a mature team, we have a mature group of leaders and it's a reflection of the team.”
Saturday also showed Notre Dame's younger players had been paying close attention to how the veterans go about their work.
The Irish staff didn't become conservative when the reserves entered the game. They continued to run the offense and defense, and Notre Dame's young players were ready for the challenge.
“It’s our job as coaches to make sure they understand how important every rep they get in practice is,” Freeman explained. “Even if they're not in there, are we coaching and teaching in a way that they're learning even though they may not physically be out there practicing every rep? It's really important because of the moments we had on Saturday when they're thrust in the action.”
Sure, not every play went according to plan. That's expected when you're getting that many young players onto the field.
But Freeman wasn't focused on the occasional mistake.
He was focused on the bigger picture.
And what he saw was a Notre Dame team developing the kind of habits that can matter when the stakes get much higher.
“I've always talked about how they have to have the mindset of clearing your plate,” said Freeman. “Whatever is on my plate today, I've got to be so intentional about focusing on what I have and clearing it so that all of a sudden on Saturday, when the plate's a little bit bigger, there's a lot more eyes on what you're doing, you're able to go out there and execute.”
That's the maturity Freeman was looking for and through two games, he's seeing plenty of signs that Notre Dame is developing it.
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