Fiesta Bowl Practice Overview

On Sunday, we attended the Notre Dame Football team’s second practice as they work towards the Fiesta Bowl on January 1, 2022 versus Oklahoma State University. After viewing the first 40 minutes of practice, the media met with Coach Freeman in the Stadium Media room. Coach talked about his first days of being the Notre Dame Head Football Coach, and the team’s Fiesta Bowl preparation. Following are a few quotes from Coach Freeman:

Coach Freeman was asked about the status of OL Blake Fisher:

“I asked Rob, our trainer, where Blake Fisher is right now. He’s out there practicing. I don’t know if he’ll be full go, released to play. (But) to see him out there doing team reps is great.

Coach Freeman on RB Logan Diggs:

He’s done a great job. I (told him) I don’t consider him a freshman anymore.

Coach Freeman on his first days on the recruiting trail:

It was a wild couple of days. It was a lot of different places and not a lot of sleep. For me, it was a chance to see as many of our offensive commitments as possible. If there was a defensive commit, I wanted to see them too. People love Notre Dame and these kids are committed to Notre Dame because of their future. It wasn’t about their coach, it was about what Notre dame can do for their future.

Coach Freeman on the future and coaching on offense:

I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be yet. I want to make sure that the people who are around our offensive guys are the right people. I want to be good. I told Tommy I want to be efficient in what we do. I’m going to spend more time with the offense to learn, and be able to give them input into the defensive side of the ball.

Coach Freeman on Special Teams:

I’ve gotten with Nick (Lezynski) to really dive in deep into that role. I know he met with Coach Polian before he left. I told nick it’s about simplicity. I’ll be involved in special teams, I’ve always been involved in special teams, but Nick has taken a leadership role

Coach Freeman on Kyren Williams and Kyle Hamilton:

Coach was asked if Kyren and Kyle will be on the sidelines during the Fiesta Bowl:

(If they want to) they will be on the sideline. We love those guys and what they’ve done for our program. But, if those guys want to come to the game, they’re more than welcome.

Coach Freeman: I’ve leaned on them (the Captains) heavily.

The team has Monday and Tuesday off for final exams. They will practice again on Wednesday night, and then will have practices again, with a few days break for Christmas. The team will be in Arizona on December 26 for Fiesta Bowl prep and practice.

Notre Dame will take on Oklahoma State on January 1, 2022 at 1:00 pm in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona.