Marcus Freeman is not a coach who likes watching TV replays of himself, but what he saw afterNotre DamebeatMichigan Statereally hit him hard. Camera crews had caught him laying into his young running back,Aneyas Williams, after a 15-yard celebration penalty. Watching himself yell on live television bothered Freeman so much that he made it a point to apologize publicly to Williams.
Williams scored a touchdown later in the second quarter, which pushed Notre Dame's lead to 17-3 against Michigan State. However, after the touchdown, Williams and a few teammates had an excessive celebration, mimicking starting a chainsaw without handing the ball to the referee. The officials flagged the team for unsportsmanlike conduct, which cost Notre Dame 15 yards on the following kickoff. In response to that, Freeman was caught on the sideline shouting at Williams as he came off the field.
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Speaking to the press later, Freeman opened up about why seeing that moment on TV felt so wrong to him, bringing up an old job he once held. "I watched my reaction, which I just don't normally watch the TV copy, but I did, and I didn't like it,"Freeman said. "I reached out to him, and I told him that, one, 'I love you.' But, two, I said that more than just the team has to learn from this play, and myself included. I always tell our program we've got to keep things in the kitchen, and it's a reflection of when I used to work at Texas Roadhouse and all this other stuff."
"The kitchen's dirty and messy, but people can't see inside the kitchen. If that situation happened at practice, I had no problem with my animation and getting after him because he trusts me; he knows that I care about him. But I don't want outsiders and people who don't know the relationship I have with our players to see that because then you can make your own narrative or opinion of our relationship, and I didn't love that."
Michigan State took the opportunity of the good field position as they scored three plays later to cut the lead to 17-10 before halftime. The Fighting Irish still won the game 27-10, but Freeman was unhappy with what the broadcast showcased.
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Though the touchdown itself wasn't flashy, with Williams just getting across the line on a 1-yard run, it was the choreographed celebration that drew the flag and ticked off Freeman.
The running back had the ball twice later on in the fourth quarter and finished with nine carries for 27 yards, plus two receptions for 11 yards. Backup Nolan James Jr. took over rushing a career-high of 26 carries for 121 yards. Though Williams hasn't publicly addressed the incident, Freeman made clear that he reached out personally to connect with him and reaffirm his belief in him.
Beyond the sideline penalty, Notre Dame still had other issues in their dominating win over Michigan State. The Fighting Irish failed to convert a fake punt in the first quarter, giving the Spartans a short field. The flag on Williams's celebration also contributed to a rough second-quarter stretch, during which the Spartans pulled within seven points at halftime. However, Notre Dame controlled the second half, outscoring Michigan State by ten points behind quarterback CJ Marr and wide receiver Micah Gilbert.
"He's got a lot on his plate, a lot of expectations," Freeman said, according to Mike Berardino of the South Bend Tribune. "He puts a lot of pressure on himself to be this great running back, and he just works tremendously. I'm really proud of who he is, the way he goes about his business, the leadership that he shows. We all learned from that play, that moment. We can't hurt our team, but also I have to be more aware of what environment I'm in too."
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That's what Freeman wants to see from his team as Big Ten play gets closer: a team with fewer mistakes. The Irish are 3-0 and have been tough to play against this season, but Freeman knows those penalties and self-inflicted wounds can become much costlier as the schedule gets tougher.
As Notre Dame heads toPurduefor the Week 4 matchup, followed byNorth Carolina, Freeman wants to keep messy "things in the kitchen" to maintain a balanced and disciplined program, expecting the same from players and coaches alike.
