Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman recaps the first fall practice and here are thoughts on it

Today was the day that Notre Dame football got its 2025 season preparation officially started with its first day of fall camp.

Following the practice, head coach Marcus Freeman took a number of questions regarding what happened today, and the expectations of the program. Obviously everyone wanted to know his thoughts on the quarterback position, which we will touch on first, but also went into detail on multiple other aspects of this year’s Irish team.

Find out below my biggest takeaways on what Freeman said following Notre Dame first fall practice of the 2025 season.

The starting quarterback will be determined by them

Freeman wants to see consistency from the quarterback position, and he feels like the starter will emerge from who will be the most. He wants to see who can take care of the football, keep the offense moving forward, but continued to preach consistency. Freeman will rotate them between groups, and will name a starter when he feels like either CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey separates themselves from the other.

He was later asked about how each of them looked, and knows that mistakes, like interceptions, might not be their fault. Freeman needs to go back and watch the film, so he tries not to be results based instead “did he make the right decision?” He loved seeing both of the wanting more reps, regardless of the outcome.

On some injuries

Boubacar Traore sat out some portions of the team activities, but Freeman noted that its a progression to get him back onto the field. He wants to slowly increase the load that they ask him to do, which makes perfect sense. Tight end Cooper Flanigan and offensive lineman Charles Jagusah are expected back during the middle of the season, but didn’t give a “hard date” to when either will be ready. Regarding Jahgusah’s injury, Freeman was more concerned with him as a person than replacing a player on the depth chart. Once again, his leadership showed why he’s so beloved by Notre Dame fans.

On facing Miami in the hot weather

Freeman noted that they can’t control the weather, but they can control their hydration, specifically over time. “It has to be a habit,” is how he explained it. While today wasn’t hot in South Bend, Freeman is hoping to get more than a few days with intense heat to somewhat prepare for what they’ll see during the season opener.

Sullivan Absher most likely will be the starter at tackle

There was no doubt when Jagusah went down with an injury that Absher was going to be moved into the starting role. “He’s earned that trust through multiple years,” and while Freeman didn’t name him the unquestioned starter, Absher was currently named as one of the best five. He did say it was a deep room, and they’ll play their best five when the season starts.

Ja’Juan Seider has earned the trust of the running back room

The new running backs coach didn’t just come into the room demanding trust, he has earned it. The players trust him as a person first, then as a coach, and Seider has shown that he cares about each of them. Not only that, Freeman noted that he’s making these players better, which is a scary thought since Jeremiyah Love is already one of the best in the country and Jadarian Price would be a starter almost anywhere else in the nation.

On Chris Ash taking over the defense

Freeman said that Ash doesn’t have to fill in the shoes of departed Al Golden, but instead be his own person. He can run the defense “how he wants to do it.. what he feels will take to have success.” Ash has been a great teammate according to Freeman, and believes that he’s done a great job and is excited about what the defense can do. “His job isn’t to keep things the same, it’s to elevate the defense,” Freeman explained later, but what they’d like to keep the same is the dominance on that side of the ball.

This is a new year, what happened last year, happened last year

When asked about what he would take from last year into this year, Freeman didn’t hesitate to say that this team and last year’s teams are different. Sure, they will “utilize the lessons, utilize some of those good and bad things that we learned from last year, but you do that no matter what,” he said. Freeman wants to see this team reach its full potential, and if they do, another long run in the College Football Playoff could be in store.

Overall thoughts

Done with day 1 ✅

Watch LIVE as Coach Marcus Freeman speaks to the media after our first practice of fall camp#GoIrish☘️ https://t.co/RZtkU0L110

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) July 31, 2025

It’s hard to think that the Irish will drop off from last year, as they have the program heading in the right direction. Freeman didn’t name starters for open positions, and rightfully so, there needs to be more time to analyze which player should be in that spot. I like how he’s handing the quarterback position, as it’s more about decision making than results. This is going to be another fun season for Notre Dame, and great to see they aren’t living on past results.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Takeaways from Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman first fall presser