Notre Dame Practices Designed To Build And Push Players Early
Friday’s first training camp practice under head coach Marcus Freeman training camp ran about two and a half hours. It was not a visibly physically demanding workout, but the high humidity did take a visible toll on some players. Offensive linemen Blake Fisher and Zeke Correll both had to tap out late in the game due to the heat.
“There’s a couple guys that couldn’t finish practice,” Freeman noted. “We have to get to a position where our guys aren’t being pulled from practice. So we have to condition our body.
“The beautiful thing about it is, I’ve been around different places where you really start slow and then you build up and then that second and third week is the hardest, longest practices," continued Freeman. "The thing about it now is we’re starting at ground zero – Long practices, tough, hard practices, because we have to develop fast, man. We’ve gotta be ready to roll right out of the gate.”
Fisher and Correll both stayed on the field and watched without their jerseys and helmets while the Irish finished practice. Braden Lenzy also appeared to have a lower leg cramp and watched about the final 30 minutes of the workout.
“It’s gotta be hard,” Freeman said. “It’s not changing. You’re not changing what we’re doing and it’s gotta be hard. We had a couple of guys that couldn’t finish practice today and it’s their job to make sure they’re available for practice. It’s the trainer’s job to make sure they protect the player.
“I was trying to send a message to those players that, hey, whatever you have to do to make sure you’re available," continued the Irish head coach. "We have to do it, because we’re not changing. The length of practice, the effort (and) the way we’re gonna challenge our players – that’s not gonna change and so, if they’re looking for us to pull back, it’s not gonna happen. They have to continue to do whatever it takes to make sure they’re ready to go.”
The bulk of the 11 on 11 and 7 on 7 drills was done in the red zone. Freeman borrowed a page from new defensive coordinator Al Golden’s NFL background to keep the mileage down early in camp on his wide receivers and defensive backs.
“I’m not trying to take it easy,” Freeman explained. “But it’s a progression, in terms of how long our wideouts and our DBs are running. We’re gonna start in the red zone and then we’ll work our way out into the middle of the field.”
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