On Monday, Ohio State and Notre Dame will meet to settle college football's national champion for the 2024 season. But first, on Sunday, Ryan Day and Marcus Freeman addressed the media and their contingents one final time.
Despite the pomp and circumstance surrounding the game, Day and Freeman said that they don't want to place too much extra emphasis on those circumstances with their players. Pregame speeches are a little overhyped in their eyes, anyway.
Day and Freeman also both spoke glowingly about former Ohio State linebacker coach turned Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington. Freeman also expressed great admiration for how Day runs things, saying Ohio State's program operates “the right way.”
Ryan Day
- On the importance of roster retention: "Our philosophy when it comes to that is we want to recruit high school players, develop them and retain them. ... The majority of our roster is guys that have been here for a long time. ... We also make sure we're using great judgement on guys that we bring into our program. ... I think we only got seven transfer portal guys this year but they all fit."
- On how helpful Georgia has been in recruiting. "Georgia has great football. We want to first build our foundation from the state of Ohio, but we also want to recruit nationally."
- Day said college football is "learning" a lot about the structure of the CFP but the time to think about changes will be after the season.
- On the "we" in Ohio State's program: "As coaches, we get too much of the attention a lot of times. This journey for us is about our players. ... Right now the focus is on finishing the mission of winning a championship. ... This group has been through a lot of ups and downs, a lot of twists and turns along the way. ... The senior class has got a great story, but like I said before, the story doesn't get told if you don't win it."
- Day said "maturity" is where the boatload of seniors on Ohio State's roster benefits the team.
- On growing the game internationally: "There's great athletes in different parts of the World. ... Once given the opportunity, you see how hungry they are to go play the game."
- On former Ohio State linebackers coach turned Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington: "My first opportunity to be a coordinator, he was coaching running backs. ... His running back that year won the Doak Walker award ... I have nothing but respect for Al Washington."
- On his pregame speech: "For us, the playoff has been a natural ramp-up to this game ... when you start to make it bigger ... I think there's a back-and-forth of realizing what's at stake, but realizing at the same time that it's about our execution on the field. ... It's a build-up, it usually starts at least 48 hours out."
- Day said that his team's "leave no doubt" mantra continues to be important. "The idea of leave no doubt is don't leave it to one play, don't leave it to one call, don't leave it to a photo finish."
- Day spoke on his background in Christian faith and the way it's grown within his team. "All three of my children were baptized (at Boston College). ... It's been amazing to see guys grow in their faith. ... There's also times I'll walk around the corner and guys you didn't even expect were having Bible study. ... I think they've had a great impact on our community, and even nationally."
Marcus Freeman
- Freeman used star Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts as an example of a guy who was rewarded for sticking around and said every player's journey is different. "We're gonna major in high school recruiting and the majority of our program will be built in recruiting, and we'll minor in the transfer portal. ... You've gotta show them examples of guys that have stayed the course and become good football players."
- Freeman said he isn't thinking about next year's schedule or CFP structure this time.
- On growing football internationally: "I think back to last year when we opened up the season in Dublin, Ireland, what an opportunity of a lifetime. ... Being able to take our program to Dublin, Ireland and showcase the game of football and expand the game of football."
- On what defensive line coach Al Washington has meant to his program: "He's been a tremendous asset to our staff. ... I know the type of man he is but also the type of coach he is. He is a great developer of young men."
- Freeman added that he's still friends with James Laurinaitis and others on Ohio State's staff. "Friendships are friendships."
- Freeman said both Ohio State and Notre Dame are not only winning programs, but ones that approach things the "right way." "I know Coach Day and a lot of coaches on their staff that do things the right way. ... You can aspire to win national championships but you also want to develop the young men that come through your program and I think both of our program do a great job of that."
- On what he'll say in his pregame speech: "So much goes into preparation, it goes into days of preparation. Sometimes maybe outsiders think a pregame speech is going to help your team win. ... It will probably be something along those lines, you've gotta do what got us here."
- On the faith within his team: "When you're at Notre Dame, faith is something that's openly talked about. ... Among our football program, it's promoted. Not saying you have to be Catholic, but we want you to grow in your faith. ... It promotes a culture where you, as a individual, feel comfortable growing your faith."
