Ryan Day, Marcus Freeman Make Final Remarks Before National Championship Game

ATLANTA — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman took part in a joint press conference on Sunday ahead of Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The two coaches answered questions from the media about the matchup and their respective teams and journeys. The highlights of everything that was said can be found below.

Ryan Day

“It’s an honor to be here.” The team is excited to be here playing against a great opponent. “We know that it’s going to be an electric atmosphere on Monday night.”
On the importance of player retention: OSU wants to recruit high school players and retain them. A lot of people talk about what OSU has done in the portal this year, but the vast majority of the team were signed as high schoolers. They had seven transfer guys this year but they all fit and made an impact. You don’t just walk into an Ohio State or Notre Dame and think you’re gonna get on the field. You have to earn it like everybody else. When you get to this point, you don’t feel like they’re transfers. They’ve been here for a year now.
On the state of Georgia’s impact on Ohio State football: They have great football here. The foundation is the state of Ohio in recruiting, but they also want to recruit nationally. Georgia over the last decade or so has built up and grown into a high school power. It’s good to have some Georgia Buckeyes going back to the Atlanta area this week.
Are we in danger of seeing fewer marquee games like this because of the expanded playoffs? There’s a lot of things the sport is still learning right now with all of the changes, but those games give you an opportunity to grow and be more prepared for the playoffs.
“As coaches, we get too much attention sometimes.” The players are the ones on the field. They’re the ones who decided to forego the NFL or leave for other schools. The focus right now is on finishing the mission. Anybody who talks to the players at OSU realizes that this is a special group. They grow up fast and they hold themselves to a standard. This group has been through ups and downs and twists and turns. Each guy has had his own story, but those stories are not told unless you win.
Where has this team benefited most from their fourth and fifth-year guys: The maturity has shown throughout. The emotional maturity to withstand the ups and downs and rally the troops. The football maturity to handle the week to week changes in game plans as well.
On expanding the game internationally: It’s exciting to see it reach the global stage. There are great athletes all over the world. “They maybe didn’t grow up in a football environment, but once given the opportunity, you can see how hungry they are to play the game.”
On handling 16 games: You had to plan for that in the winter and work through it all year long. One of the things they did was not play as fast on offense. They practiced with 16 games in mind. They got deep into the sports science of it. It is all working towards this moment right here.
On Marcus Freeman’s past: Everybody has respect for Freeman and his past as a Buckeye, but also his present at Notre Dame.
On Al Washington: They go back to meeting at a Dunkin Donuts and Boston College hired Washington to coach RBs even though Washington had no history with RBs. Nothing but respect for Washington and his family.
Notre Dame is an excellent team that has found a way to win, week in and week out. They are very good on special teams. They have scored 140 points on turnovers. It’s a big challenge because they are very good in all three phases. This isn’t about the big brands, this is about these two teams. But these are two large Midwest programs that recruit nationally, so they have a lot in common.
The more film you watch as a player, eventually you find something that helps you get that one inch or one play you need. Having the discipline to find one more hour late in the season to watch film can win you a game.
On his pregame speech tomorrow: The playoff has been a natural ramp-up, which has allowed them to stay in a routine. So they’ll keep the same routine and focus on their execution. There will be plenty of emotion on Monday, but it’s about execution. Being in the locker room is a special moment.
On leaving no doubt, what’s behind that thought? It’s something they’ve talked about since last winter. Don’t leave it to one play or one call. Don’t leave it up to the judges like in a boxing match.

Marcus Freeman

Got a great group and staff that has put everything they have into this game. Looking forward to the opportunity against a great opponent in Ohio State.
On the importance of player retention: “We’re gonna major in high school recruiting… and we’ll minor in the transfer portal for specific needs.” It’s not an easy answer on how to keep young people a part of your program, but if you can get them to understand that they have value, it helps. “Young people want to be valued.” You also show them the value of sticking around and having patience. “Everybody’s journey is different.”
Are we in danger of seeing fewer marquee games like this? Ask after the season for his opinion on stuff like that. The focus right now is this game.
The ability to make sure everybody has value is so important. Then they have to make a choice — the success of the team is more important than the success of the individual, or it isn’t. It’s an every day message to the team and it’s an every day choice they have to make.
On expanding the game internationally: Playing in Ireland was great. They were able to showcase the game over there. They have international players. It’s trickling down more and more. Everybody supports the growth of the game.
On handling 16 games: They put a great plan together on handling the path after week 12. They spent time on that before they got there. Then after the 12th game, they planned on how to prepare for four games. You make a plan each week. “It’s worked pretty well for us.”
Friendships are friendships and everybody knows where he went to college.
On ND defensive line coach Al Washington, who was the LBs coach at OSU under Ryan Day: He’s been a tremendous asset to this staff. They worked together at Cincinnati as well. “He is a developer of young people.”
On the similarities of these two programs: They both have similar expectations. “You go into every season wanting to be national champions.” Those are the expectations. There aren’t many programs that can say that every year, which is why both coaches are at the places they are. They want to compete at the top. Ryan Day’s staff does it the right way, building young people. You can aspire to win national championships every year, and you can also make sure that the guys on your team become better people having been with you.
Players spend a tremendous amount of time watching film. That can be in the building, alone, with coaches, at home. It’s as important as ever.
On his pregame speech tomorrow: That’s the last thing on his mind right now because so much goes into the preparation to even get to that point. Pregame speeches don’t help teams win. It’s all about what you’ve done to get to that point and then continue doing that. You can’t go out and tell the team they’ll need to do something different than what they’ve done all along. There’s certainly going to be passion and natural emotions.
On reaching your final opportunity: When he thinks about this journey this season, there is a lot of gratitude he has for all of the people who have put the effort into making this game happen. They have one guaranteed opportunity left to reach their potential. “Enjoy the opportunity. It’s going to be a difficult one.” Go out there and enjoy it.