Notre Dame Football Head Coach James Franklin talks with the ahead of the 2025 Orange Bowl matchup in the College Football Playoff semifinal game versus Notre Dame.

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You know, I want to start off again by thanking the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans for hosting us. It was a great environment. You know, Thursday seems like forever ago, but, you know, it was a great moment for our entire program.

And I want to make sure I give due credit to Georgia and Coach Smart. I try to tell him after the game, but those moments can be so brief and chaotic. But the job he's done leading that football program these past, I think, nine years, it's the standard for college football.

And I got a lot of respect for him as a coach in that Georgia football program. So I want to make sure I said that. Quickly had to turn our attention, by the time we got to the plane, coaching staff had to turn our attention to Penn State.

And as special as that victory was, we almost put all our effort and our attention to preparing for Penn State and, you know, making sure that we're ready for this opportunity in front of us. You know, if you don't prepare the right way, the reality is that that moment on Thursday will be our last great moment. And nobody wants that, right? Nobody in our program wants that.

But the reality is, it doesn't matter what you want. It's going to be about what you're willing to do. And so we have to understand that and put the work in necessary to achieve the result that we want.

The only injury update from the game is that Cooper Flanagan will be out for the remainder of the CFP with a foot injury. But other than that, you know, which is, again, you know, you miss Cooper and love him and what he brings to this team. But other than that, you know, everybody else was clean.

It was a pretty clean game in terms of injuries. Moving forward to Penn State, again, I got a lot of respect for Coach Franklin and the job he's done at Penn State and at Vandy before that. It's a very talented, disciplined, tough football team.

Very creative offense that utilizes a bunch of different personnels, a bunch of different formations. It's going to force you to be extremely disciplined in terms of your eyes and your adjustments in terms of defensive football. I think they're tied in.

44 Warren is, you know, one of the best players in college football, period, regardless of position. Very impressed by the film I've seen of him. Both of their running backs are extremely good players.

And both of them are home run threats. They're power runners. You know, they got speed, good balance.

They're tough. I think they're extremely talented players in the quarterback. His playing is as well as he has all season.

He's playing confident. He's really good decisions, staying in the pocket and delivering good balls. So, their offense is going to present a great challenge for us.

Defensively, you know, they create a lot of havoc. And it doesn't have to be with a pressure, but their front four create havoc. They do a good job stopping a run and getting after their quarterback in the pass game.

And like I just said about the tight end, number 11, that D.N. Carter, I think his name, he's as good as anybody in college football at his position. I mean, he's a talented pass rusher. So, they got some guys.

I think they're fourth in FBS in terms of interceptions. I mean, they got guys and it's a good team. And so, you know, we're going to have a challenge to prepare the right way and get ready for this opportunity that lies ahead of.

You know, I think the thing I respect about them most is the way they led when things weren't going so well, right? The ability to stand in front of the team, the ability to say this is our culture and this is what we're going to do. And this is the work we're going to put in.

I got a lot of respect for them. I've said this before, but culture is revealed in tough moments. You know, I met with the captains last night about the plan for this week and I couldn't even get it out of my mouth before they said, coach, we have to move forward.

We have to move forward. If we didn't listen to this noise before now, why are we changing? So they're taking the things I've said. Now it's just a strong belief and they are truly an extension of me in that locker room.

It's great when you have players leading your program. Maybe an example of something that you thought, okay, I need to run this by the captains or the seniors or the leaders. I'm going to go talk to them.

But then when you start to talk to them, they've already addressed it. What would it be? I don't know if that situation has exactly happened where they've addressed. I'm trying to think because you asked that question.

Listen, you know, we talked about curfew last night and before I could even say, hey, what time is curfew? Coach won't keep the same. And those are the little things that those guys, you know, they understand and they believe. Like, I want them to be empowered and that's why we have these meetings.

I want them to feel part of the decisions we make, but I can make the same decisions without them being there and they're going to, I mean, we're on the same wavelength. So it's a really good group of leaders.

Yeah, it's probably, probably louder than this week than it's ever been.

And, you know, I think it's human nature to enjoy people saying good things about you. It's human nature. But we've talked all year about being misfits, right? And that's what we have to continue to be.

You have to make the choice to either waste time listening to people tell you how good you are or what the past has been, or you're going to put your time into preparing for this opportunity right in front of us. And that's been my message loud and clear. And we all have to make that choice.

You know, it's not the initial thought of daydreaming about the past or an uncertain future. It's the second thought that as soon as you start thinking about the past or what somebody's saying about your future that's uncertain, get back in the moment and put the work in that it takes to get the outcome that you want. Like, don't dream about the outcome, put the work in.

The minis are dreaming about the outcome, put the work in that it takes to get that. And, and that's a personal challenge for everybody in our program. I asked you a month ago about your quarterback and what you've learned about him throughout the season.

It just, again, confirms what we've all learned about him. He is an ultra competitive individual that finds ways to get his job done, and it's never perfect. But in the most crucial moments, he's going to find a way.

And that's through decision making, that's through his legs, that's through having to jump over somebody and flip on his head to get a first down. You know, he's doing exactly what we asked him to do. And he's the first one, just like I would tell you about myself, that wants more.

He has more. I have more and we got to find a way to get more. But, you know, he is, he's done a heck of a job and he just finds a way.

Aeneas is a guy that we identified in camp, had a lot of talent.

And I remember when we offered him right after camp and, you know, he had a great senior year. He came here with a lot of ability, but we, he had to earn trust. You know, can you get your job done? Can you do exactly what your coach wants you to do over and over and over? And all he's done is continue to earn more trust throughout the season.

And it's, at first, it was more just, hey, trust in the pass game. Like, can he protect and get his job done? And now it's, you can put him in there at any moment, run game, pass game, get the ball in his hands, throw the ball to him. He's going to protect.

He's a tough guy. And I love it because it just shows that he's put the work in because he's, everybody that comes into our program has talent. Like, we've identified that.

We're not going to bring you into our program if you don't have talent. But the ability to get you to play starts with your ability to play fast. Right? And so what Aeneas has done is he's expedited that process through work, through intentional work, not just the work that everybody does in 20 hours.

He's putting extra work to expedite the process of playing fast, playing physical and getting his job done. And so credit to him. I mean, he's done a heck of a job.

He's playing at a pace that we didn't see before. The other day, Coach Golden said, I guess it was a couple of weeks ago, where would we be without Junior? Could you speak to that? Yeah, that's wild, man. I just wished that you could show everybody in your program what the future is when we start.

I mean, Junior's a great example that I'm going to talk about now, but it could be utilized for so many guys in our program that, yeah, after fall camp, he was the third Viper. And he worked and worked. And I'm sure there was probably people in his ear saying, uh, maybe you want a redshirt and go into the portal.

And he just is committed to this place, committed to getting better and working, not worrying about how many plays he's playing. And now you're talking about the biggest games of the year. This dude is making game changing plays.

And so I think I said this after the game. We cannot be obsessed with the role as much as the work you put into the role you're given. Because if you do that, you're going to be a guy like Junior.

And in the biggest moments of the year, you've just improved because you put everything into the roles that have been determined for you all season. And now you're making plays in the Sugar Bowl. And I love it, man.

I love it for him. I love the example that he sets for our entire program

Yeah, I wanted to make sure that, you know, I love my mom. I love my dad.

But, you know, boys love their moms, too. And, you know, I want to make sure that, you know, it's well stated that I am half Korean. And, you know, it is an honor.

It's a great honor to be even mentioned to be in this position. It's a reminder that you are a representation for so many others that look like you. And I don't take that for granted.

And I just, I'm going to work tirelessly to be the best version of me. And it's great because even the guys in our program, my own kids can understand, like, don't put a ceiling on what you can be and what you can do. Now, with that being said, I mean, it's not about me.

And it's not about the head coach. It's about us. And more than anything, I want an opportunity to achieve team glory with this program.

That's what's important. And what that means to other people is what it means. But I'm just obsessed and so focused on doing whatever it takes to help us achieve team.

And that's my mentality. And that's our focus. And that's what's important.

It's not who's getting recognition. It's not being the first to do something. It's about, man, we got a chance to obtain team glory here in however many days.

In the Orange Bowl. And that's what we're going to do is focus on the preparation that it takes to do that

It's stay in the moment and win the moment. You can't win a moment if you're not in the moment.

And that's more important than anything is. Yeah, we want team glory. Yeah, it's one day, one life.

It's one play, one life. It's one game, all those different things. But I understand most importantly, stay in the moment, win the moment.

And the only way to win the moment is to be in the moment. And that's what's important

Yeah, like more than anything, if you want to impact the young people in this profession, you probably should do things to help them. And those are things that maybe after the season, I could focus on trying to do. You know, like, I want to be a representation.

I am a representation. But that's not enough. If you want to truly help some people, then you got to be willing to make decisions and actions that truly help people.

And those are things that probably hopefully after the season I can do more of. But, you know, right now, I'm more focused on getting this team prepared for this opportunity we have in front of us. And who was maybe someone who you felt helped you or helped open up opportunities, you were able to accomplish this achievement? There's so many, I mean, there's so many and so many different races.

And, you know, the impact Jim Trussell's had on my life and Luke Fickle and Darryl Hazel, the guys I've worked for, it didn't matter what color they were, it was the way they went about their business. And, you know, but then I've followed Tony Dungy from afar, reading his books, meeting with him, Mike Tomlin from afar, Todd Bowles. I mean, there's great coaches, but you don't just follow them because of color of their skin, you follow them because their actions and the men of integrity they are and their hard work.

You know, I think of Nick Saban, I think of Kirby Smart. I mean, those are guys you want to, like you want to, you got to be yourself, but you're a fool if you don't study what the best do. There's something that they do that is helping them have success.

So you, I have to be Marcus Freeman, but I'm going to study the best, I'm going to study those guys. And some of them have to be minorities and some of them don't.

He's been a tremendous hire for our program, not just our defense.

You know, he is a tireless worker. He's got experience. He's intelligent.

He finds a way to motivate his players and to get them to play at a high level. And I know we're talking about him, but there's a lot of guys on our staff that do those same things, but he's been huge. And the thing I love about him is that he's able to work together well with his staff and they produce a great output.

And he's collaborative. I couldn't speak, I don't even know if I have enough time to continue to give him compliments, but he's been great for our staff

Yeah, probably similar to the question, the answer I gave for the previous question. There's no substitution for experience. And if Al Golden or anybody else on our staff has experience in a situation that maybe I don't, I'm a fool not to use the wisdom that they've gained from their experience.

And at the end of the day, I got to make a decision, but I like to gain wisdom from others that have experience doing things that maybe I haven't and come up with my own decision after that.

My evaluation of Jordan was the film that I watched, he's a dang good football player. And he's tough because I did hear about the injury and he played through a lot of injuries. And a guy willing to play when he doesn't feel 100% speaks volumes about the competitiveness of that individual.

You know, then he gets here and his leadership traits, the ability to make people in that room better, his athleticism, his coverage skills, he's a guy that had shown at Arizona State to play multiple different positions. And I mean, the way he's improved that room, I think that's probably a bigger impact than anything. You know, he came here to compete for championships, and to put himself in a better opportunity to go to NFL.

But I think what he's done for this program far exceeds that. And he's made this program better. And we're dang glad that he's a part of our defense

We practiced it to a point where I felt like we couldn't get it wrong.

I don't want to go out there and guess. And if it's going to be something that we do, I want to make sure we practice it over and over and the different situations, the different hashes that ball could have been on. And, you know, is it after a timeout or is it, you know, with a 40 second clock or a 25 second clock, we had to practice all those situations.

And, you know, then we went out and we actually, you don't always know how the opposing team's going to respond. I didn't know if they were going to call a timeout or, you know, he did a great job. It was actually good for us to see defensively of don't panic, get lined up.

You know, they got 11 guys on the field and you know, the guy happened to jump off sides, but I thought they did a great job of not panicking, which the whole point of that is try to get somebody to panic and, you know, maybe call a timeout or do something like that. But they didn't panic. And, you know, but we had a plan.

We practiced it for many days. Front row on your right, John Bryce. Marcus, I think you guys familiar, favorite topic of mine have scored more than 140 points in the middle eight, maybe only two opponents have scored against you during the middle eight.

Yeah, I mean, we practice two minute situations multiple times a week. We practice some of those, we call them last play situations that can occur, you know, in the middle eight, a couple of times a week, you know, and then you come out a half time and it's important to start fast. And so, you know, that's a mindset that we have.

There's different ways to practice starting fast. I mean, you know, we intentionally put some breaks, a half time break, essentially in practice, and we got to start fast right after that. And so I don't want to say it's, you know, not because of preparation, we prepare our guys are doing a great job.

But at the end of the day, you got to win the interval on that play. You know, and then the game is made up of a lot of intervals.

And that's that's to me, what our guys are able to do is to, you know, it's I think there was 39 seconds left. I can't remember exact time when junior or was a junior R.J. when R.J., you know, for a second, but R.J. won the interval on that play. You know, the next play, Riley and Bo won the interval.

And so I don't just want to generalize and say the middle way we've done it, like it's about winning the interval on that play. And this is the only the only thing consistent in the game is this is the only play that matters. That's what I told the guys.

I remember before the game, I'm like, like life, the game is unpredictable. It is how you handle the unpredictable things that happen in your life, how you handle the unpredictable things that happen in a game is what makes it a success. And if we can keep winning the interval on this play is the only thing that's important, not the last play, not the next play.

If you can keep that as consistent as you can, then you're going to probably have a lot of success. So along the lines of winning the interval, when you if you win the last intervals before the half and the first intervals out of the half, what does that do to buoy your team? And what do you think it presents from a challenge to the opposition? Yeah, I just, you know, I never want to take the foot off the gas. And I don't care if we're up or down.

Like we we got to come out of the locker room in the second half, finish the first half to answer your question, finish the first half, you know, in a good way. But we got to come out of the locker room with a sense of urgency, no matter what the situation is. And I remember challenging the locker room, I think we're up 10, maybe 10.

I don't survive this thing. I think it's human nature at some point, sometimes survive or up 10. I mean, I remember watching Georgia.

I mean, just come back versus multiple teams this season, I knew those guys were coming out ready to go. And fortunate for us, we came out of the locker room and returned the kickoff return for a touchdown. And the result of that is 11 guys doing their job.

You know, and so it's a mentality. But, you know, you got to have your guys got to do it, man. These guys got to go out there and get it done.

Yeah, you know, all I know is that this upcoming opponent does a heck of a job on defense and their offenses creates challenge. They run the ball, probably built similar to us in terms of the way they've had success.

Maybe don't run the quarterback as much as we have. But, you know, I think each week it's what does it take to win? And that was probably the best defense we've seen all year. I don't care about stats.

I'm just talking about personnel and about scheme like that was a really good defense. And so we knew we weren't going to be able to just have 400 yards of offense. You know, we had to be really smart.

We had to take care of the football like we knew our offense.

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