All language subtitles for Here.Come.The.Irish.S01E01.1080p.WEB.h264-ETHEL

[dramatic music playing]

[echoing click]

[man 1 VO] I try to get
my workout in in the mornings.

Sometimes I'll run.
Sometimes I'll walk.
Depending on what day it is.

But I love it empty.

I love being here
and really reflecting

on the work
that has to get done.

You look for a place where
you can have a little solitude.

It's like holy ground, man.

What better place
than being in the stadium
at this time in the morning?

[dramatic acoustic music
playing]

Our focus as a football team,
as a football program,

as coaches, players, staff,

our focus for this spring

is we're chasing
the best version of you.

Don't worry about anything else.

I'm talking to myself
as head coach.

I'm talking to our coaches,
to our staff.

If we can get 100-plus people
in the Notre Dame
football program

to be the best version
of themselves, watch out.

That's called
reaching your full potential.

[announcer]
And here come the Irish!

[man 2] It's the mecca
of college football.

You can't say "college football"
without introducing Notre Dame.

[man 3]
You think about the tradition,
the great players,

the great coaches.

How can you not be
a romantic about it?

[man 4] What draws people
from all over the globe

to Northern Indiana?
In one word, it's excellence.

[commentator VO]
Picked up by Xavier Watts!
Touchdown, Notre Dame!

[man 2] You can't describe it.

It's once a week
for 12 weeks straight.
It's addicting.

[man 5] If you've been
part of Notre Dame,
no explanation's necessary.

If you haven't been,
no explanation will suffice.

Everybody expects
the national championship,
and we all embrace it.

That's the big prize, right?
Winning national championship.
What you're remembered for.

Everybody wants to lift
the most, run the fastest.

You can feel it.

It's gonna be different
this year.

We're Notre Dame,
and they ain't.
That says it all.

[dramatic musical flourish]

[engine whining]

-Good to see you.
-Morning.

-Doing alright?
-Yes, sir. Doing well.

"Dear Coach Freeman,
congrats on a terrific season.

Through all the peaks
and valleys,

you led in a steady,
professional, inspiring fashion.

Good luck with all the change
coming in 2024.

Wishing you all the best."

"Dear Marcus,

As I get towards
the end of my life,

God, country, Notre Dame
becomes so much more important

to me
and to Notre Dame students."

You receive a lot of gifts
as a head coach,

and really cool things, so...

I'm writing thank you notes
to those people.

I'm sure a lot of the stuff sent
doesn't get to my desk.

-We get wedding invites.
-Wedding invitations.

From people
that we have no clue. [laughs]

The head coach at Notre Dame
has a lot to live up to.

The expectations of the position
are absolutely massive.

I can't be...

Lou Holtz or Brian Kelly.
I gotta be Marcus Freeman.

But this is, more than anything,
paying respect to Lou Holtz.

People that have been
in my chair

have done some amazing things
in college football.

[man 6] You're supposed to look,
behave, talk a certain way.

You are a CEO, but you are
the face of this giant brand.

And heavy is the head
that wears the crown.

There's a lot of responsibility
that goes with that.

Oh.

[Holtz] Come here, hon.

-This is Jemma's daughter.
-Yeah.

And she thinks you're
the coolest guy in the world.

[laughs] After him?

No, no, no.

In place of me.

-But she wanted a picture.
-Yeah.

She's a junior in college.

-Awesome. Nice to meet you.
-Thank you. Nice meeting you.

Okay. We're all done
with that now.

It's all about you now.
How you been?

I'm good. How 'bout yourself?

Well, there are two things
that a coach never has.

One's a bad spring,

and a bad recruiting year.
[continues indistinctly]

[Freeman] Anytime I have
an opportunity to spend time
with Coach Holtz, I try to.

And there's very few people
that understand

what it's like
to be in the chair

of the head coach at Notre Dame,
but he surely does.

Could you imagine dealing
with the transfer portal?

-And...
-You know...

my idea on the transfer portal,

as I always told our players,

all you do is

change the address
of your problem.

-[Freeman] That's right.
-[Holtz] You learn so much

on an athletic field
about teamwork,

unselfishness, perseverance,

and getting up
when you get knocked down.

But you just have to learn

to wait your time,
to persevere, to prepare,

and to take advantage
of the opportunity you have.

But that's not
the way it is now.

Let's see what this guy can do.

The kid that transferred
from Duke.

[Holtz laughs] Oh, we know
what he can do.

-We saw it.
-Yeah.

The guy's a real good athlete.

A winner and a competitor.

-Yeah.
-No doubt.

Marcus, as a coach, I think
he's done a tremendous job.

I think that the players
love him.

They play hard for him.

And those are
the most important things

you look for
in a quality head coach.

It's important for your players
to understand

-we control our own destiny.
-Yeah.

We had a game plan
of how to win,

and we sold our players
on that game plan,

and it worked for 30 years.

I'ma write this down.

What was important
was to teach our players

that, number one, we had to be

the most physical football team
on the field.

[commentator VO] To the 20.
He's going to score.

He does!

[Holtz] Number two,

we have to be the best
fundamental football team.

The football is so important
they named the game after it.

How in the world
do you not take care of it?

Then point number four

was we have to be
the closest team on the field.

In other words,
we have to be closer

and care about our teammates
more than they do.

And the last point:
don't flinch.

No matter what happens,
we're gonna find a way to win.

[Freeman]
Lou Holtz loves Notre Dame,

and that's very evident
when you spend time with him.

He always tells me,
"I'll give you my opinion,
but never any advice."

And, uh...
But his opinion matters.

This has been great.

I love, anytime I can,

spending time with you, man.

[laughs] I have no idea why.

[Freeman laughs]
You know, the wisdom.

I get something from you
every time I see you.

Coach Freeman found out quickly
that being a head coach
at Notre Dame

is a lot different than being
a collegiate coach
most other places.

And that's because Notre Dame,

it generates eyes. People watch.

Generally, an expectation that
when you're the head coach here,

you will be coaching
for national championships.

It has been that way
since Knute Rockne
took the program national.

And don't forget, men,
today's the day we're gonna win!

They can't lick us,
and that's how it goes!

The first platoon men--
go in there
and fight, fight, fight!

Knute Rockne was innovative,
relentless, motivated, driven.

One of the great things
that he did

was that he started taking
Notre Dame on the road.

[announcer]
90,000 in the Coliseum
at Los Angeles in 1930.

Notre Dame
and Southern California.

They didn't have planes.
Knute Rockne made it
a national program

by taking the train.

[announcer] The train
pulls into South Bend

as football fans welcome home
the Notre Dame squad.

[Brandell]
"Oh, we're also gonna play
in Yankee Stadium."

It was a bicoastal program

and it had
that "Fighting Irish" moniker.

[Prister]
Soldier Field in Chicago
was one of the first ones.

[announcer] Now,
a Rockne-coached team

plays USC in Chicago, 1929.

[Prister] 100,000 people
to come watch Notre Dame.

They win, and suddenly,

your name's a big deal in
Chicago and New York, et cetera.

[Forde] It was no longer just
a Midwestern Catholic school.

He took on the challenge,
I guess, of making Notre Dame

a marketable program
across the nation.

They brought their brand
that people at that time
could identify with

like, "These guys are like us.
These are immigrant tough guys

from the Midwest,
Irish background."

It was great.

It's one of those stories that

you wouldn't believe it
if you heard it,

that he did start to make them
a national brand

before the term "national brand"
really existed.

[Freeman] Get a piece of gum.

You catchin' my normal
practice routine, huh?

Alright. First day. Let's roll.

The hardest part
about my job, at times,

is to help make sure that

nothing distracts
this football program

from reaching
its full potential.

I bet you the new guys are like,
"What is going on, man?"

You know? Welcome back.

And so, I have to make sure
every single day,

every moment of every day

that I have that focus
at the forefront of my mind.

Alright, buddy.
Let's go. Let's go.

-Good?
-Yes, sir.

It's hard to be a student
athlete at Notre Dame.

They're challenged,

mentally and physically,
every day.

But I try to remind 'em,
"Here's the reward.

If you continue
to choose hard every day,

it's gonna become who you are."

Get your minds right.
Get your minds right.

Catch your breath.
Get ready to rock and roll.

Finally, it's here.
Know what I mean?

Finally, we go
and play a little football.

We need everybody in this group.

We're on this journey.
On a journey starting right now.

To find the best version of you.

Everybody understand?
The best version of you.

[dramatic string music playing]

The expectations
for the 2024 Notre Dame team

are sky-high.

The key was that defense,

maybe the best defense
in the country this year.

They've got the quarterback.

They've got
what Notre Dame needs

to expand things
a little bit, offensively.

By the way, Marcus Freeman is
in his third year at Notre Dame.

Year three in history
at Notre Dame has been the year.

[Freeman]
I don't know if there's a place
I've been with a Notre Dame fan

that it hasn't
been brought up that

the many national championships
that have been won

in the third year
of a head coach.

[Forde] Ara Parseghian, 1966,

winning his first national title
in his third year.

Dan Devine in '77.

Lou Holtz in '88.

So there's a track record there
and a suggestion that

that's the time to produce.

[Cornette]
Now, the learning curve
has been established.

Now it's your time
to put your footprint

on your program.
It's firmly yours at that point.

[Freeman] Choose hard.
Choose hard in everything we do.

There are no breaks.
That's the greatest thing
about this thing.

Be the best version of you.

Understand?
That takes hard work.

For coaches and players.
But be committed to it.

[gentle music playing]

-How are you?
-I'm good.

Thanks for all the goodies.

[Freeman] It's up
with having your father there.

That's the way I view
Coach Tressel, a father figure.

We were out in the yard
last summer,

working on two-minute offense,

we were down in the goal line,
and they were blitzing,

and I had to let it go.
He was playing wideout.

Remember? Hit him right
in the face with the ball.

-[Freeman laughs] Oh no!
-He looked,

and the ball was right--
Said, "John, they were coming!"

-[Freeman laughs]
-You never told me!

I told you, "They're coming.
They're coming"

-[John] No, you didn't.
-[Tressel] I didn't?

-[John] No, you didn't.
-[laughing]

He did the same thing to me
when I was a player.

"I tried to tell you that!"
"No, Coach, you didn't tell me."

It's hard 'cause
you wanna impress him.

Like trying to impress
your father and mentor.

I wanna impress him,

but I have a feeling
he's impressed

just knowing I'm leading
this football program.

You never coached here.

-I never stepped foot in here.
-No way.

And I've been
to the spring practices.

-Oh my gosh.
-I've been here a million times
but never in this building.

Oh my gosh.

It's good, man. It's--
People are dying,

dying to win a championship.

[Tressel] No question.

-[Freeman] I mean...
-[Tressel] Yup.

[Freeman] You're trying
to figure it out

within the realm of Notre Dame.

The impact he had on my life
from 18 to 22,

I don't know if I appreciated it
as much as I do now.

But it's no different
than me as a father.

I see myself doing things
I learned from my father.

Same thing as a coach.
I see myself leading in ways
Jim Tressel led me.

-Awesome.
-Alright.

[Tressel] Here we are
at spring practice.

We always said you cannot win
the national championship

at spring practice,
but you can lose it

if you don't progress.

If every single one of us
does not progress,

then we're gonna lose
the national championship
in the spring.

I think college football
is really gonna have fun

as we enter this playoff era.

But we have to know

it's gonna be
even more important

for every single one of us
to be selfless.

Create that culture.

Get to know each other
more quickly.

What a blessing you have
to be at Notre Dame.

Go Irish.

[applause]

[podcast host VO] One of you
came at me and said,

Notre Dame's gonna win
the national title this year.

I don't know how old
you have to be

to have your own statue
in South Bend,

but we would test the limits

if Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame
won a national title.

-[Freeman] Nice to meet you.
-Thrilled you're here.

Thrilled you're in Pittsburgh.
Thrilled you're at Notre Dame.

Glad to be here. Thank you.

My son said
he wanted to say hello

and he will see you January 20th
in Atlanta.

There we go. I love that.

Look at those helmets, huh?

-Would you hold this one?
-Absolutely.

-Like at my press conference.
-There you go.

[Prister] The Notre Dame clubs,
it's a loyal group

and they're all over
the country.

It doesn't matter where it is,
it's usually a very enthusiastic
group of people.

[host] I would like
to ask us all

to give a warm Pittsburgh
and Western Pennsylvania welcome

to Coach Marcus Freeman.

[cheering, applause]

[Freeman] Being able
to visit all those clubs
is an expression of my gratitude

for being part
of this university.

Talk about your three.

And what we really
wanna know is,

is the third time a charm?

[laughter]

-I sure as heck hope so.
-[laughter]

I understand that I'm a figure
for this university,

not just this football program.

It didn't take me long
to realize

there's so much more
about this university
that truly makes it special.

And that's
what I've grown to love.

I love these young people

that I get a chance to coach
every single day.

I love to speak on the passion
I have for this place

because it's real.

But it's also a way
to gain some valuable wisdom

from other leaders

for me to bring back here
to South Bend.

-Thank you so much.
-Mm-hmm.

I'm excited you're in town.

-You glad to be back?
-I am always glad to be back.

-Uh-huh. Grew up here, yeah.
-Massillon...

[Freeman] This place
is special to me.

I married into a, uh,

an honorary Massillon Tiger

-and, um...
-[man] Go Tigers!

It is, uh-- That's right.

[applause]

But since I met my wife
in college in 2005,

this has been my second home.

This place in Stark County,

the people here,
it's special to me.

So when we had
an opportunity to do this,

without hesitation, I wanted
to come spend time here.

Let's talk about your staff.

Mike Denbrock coming in
as offensive coordinator.

When you go out and need
to fill a hole on the staff,

what are you looking for?
What traits and attributes?

After this season,
when I had an opportunity to
hire an offensive coordinator,

I said, "Who's the number one
offense in the country?"
And it was LSU.

I said, "I know that guy.
I'm gonna try to get
Denbrock back to Notre Dame."

It wasn't easy.
First, I tried to convince him,
"You wanna work with me."

He's like, "I'm close
with Coach Kelly too.
That's not the reason."

I said, "We believe
we're gonna win a championship."

He's like, "LSU, Notre Dame,
we're all fighting
for championships."

But ultimately, what he said
was the reason he chose
to come back to Notre Dame,

he said, "I couldn't turn down
the opportunity
to coach a Notre Dame kid."

And that, to me, spoke volumes
about our players.

And I'm grateful that
he chose to come back.

[gentle acoustic music playing]

[Denbrock]
Good morning, everybody.

[all] Good morning.

We've done, in my opinion,

and grown every single practice
this spring.

And you guys should be proud
of yourselves for that, okay?

But we know this too, right?

We know there's still
a huge amount of improvement

that can happen with all of us,
right?

If we're all in this together,
then we got to have
that mindset about it

and tomorrow is just
another opportunity to do that.

My first opportunity to be here

was from 2002 to 2004
with Coach Willingham.

And then after the 2009 season,

Coach Brian Kelly called
and offered me an opportunity

to come back to Notre Dame.

And then obviously
here in January,

the third opportunity arose.

And I like to joke,

like a bad penny,
here I am again.

Tighten up! Where you going?

Where's your route taking you?
Tighten up!

Coach Denbrock, he's brought
a sense of grit to our offense.

Come on. Wake up. Wake up.
Wake up. Go to work. Let's go!

He's gonna do whatever it takes
to put his players in positions
to have success.

It's a balance between running
too big of a loop

where he can beat me underneath

and closing the space
at the same time.

Okay? Gotta get used to it.
Here we go. Ready? Go.

[man 7] It's gonna be a change
for what Notre Dame's used to.

Probably more tempo
than people are used to.

Offense, tempo!

Ball's on the right hash.
Here we go!

We're gonna stretch the field
vertically and horizontally.

Ready? Go. Pedal. This way.

[Freeman] It starts
with instant credibility.

That Riley Leonard can look
at Mike Denbrock

and say, "This guy knows
what he's talking about."

Let 'em up a little bit, Jack.

You're killin' em.
Torturin' 'em. I love it.

This guy is an extremely good
offensive coordinator.

And their personal relationship
is continuing to grow.

[commentator VO]
Number 11 Notre Dame

taking on 4-0 Duke.

They are ranked number 17.

Last spring,
as I was going through

Notre Dame's upcoming
opponents in 2023,

when I stopped upon Duke and
started watching film of them,

I was like,
this Riley Leonard kid

is going to give Notre Dame
a lot of trouble.

[Guidugli] Riley Leonard was
probably the best quarterback

that they went against.

And our defense is pretty good.

But that's kinda
where it started,

and once he hit the portal,

that was the guy
we were gonna get.

[podcast host VO]
It is finally official.

Riley Leonard announced
on his social media

that he's committed to play for
the Fighting Irish next season.

[Leonard] Like, it was
a pretty easy decision.

Why wouldn't you want
to come to Notre Dame?

When Coach Freeman
gives you a phone call,

how could you turn that down?

[Freeman] I think Riley
came into our program

personally feeling he was
100% cleared, ready to go.

And very early in the process,

he realized that he wasn't
truly injury-free.

[Forde] The irony of ironies
is Notre Dame's
starting quarterback

was a guy that Notre Dame
knocked out last year

when he was playing for Duke.

[commentator 1 VO]
Riley Leonard's down,
screaming and writhing in pain.

[commentator 2 VO] Oh no.

Last six months or so,

I've been put
through the wringer.

Uh, three surgeries in now.

Setting records,
as I like to tell people.

But I found different ways
to contribute to the team

and to find my role
through this offseason.

In my head, if I don't show
that I'm struggling
and that I'm confident,

I think my teammates
will feed off that
and share the same energy in me.

So my thing is go in every day
with a positive mindset.

It was a long journey.

There was a lot of days
where you get up

and you create these
false illusions in your head

that maybe Notre Dame
regrets taking me.

Or maybe I'm never gonna be
the same type of athlete

or the same type of quarterback
that I was in the past.

It's kinda hard to fight those
demons in your head sometimes.

[Freeman]
When you're a competitor,
you wanna play, compete,

but he's been a young man that
has maximized what he can do,

and that's learn the playbook,

get to know his teammates,

and be a great leader
for our entire program.

[gentle music playing]

[Joe Montana]
Here at Notre Dame,

just about any time
you go across the goal line,

with the fans screaming
and the band playing,

it just does something to me.

[Prister] When I think
about great quarterbacks
that have played at Notre Dame,

along comes the legend
of Joe Montana.

Joe Theismann
was certainly capable

of winning a national title.

You get into the 1980s,

Tony Rice, he's right up there
with the great ones.

[commentator VO] Here's Rice,
five yards to the goal line
and a touchdown.

[man 8] Always been one of those
glamor positions in sports.

I think it's like being
shortstop for the Yankees

where it's a position that comes
with a lot of pressure

but also a lot of notoriety

in terms of what that platform
can bring for you.

I think Notre Dame fans
are looking for
that next great quarterback.

-[rock music playing]
-Uh-oh.

[indistinct singing]

Yo, is it, like,
golden hour, boys?

Is that Riley Leonard?

Can we get a picture?

Hold on. Wanna take a picture.

-Yo. Yo. Yo. You're the GOAT.
-Riley Leonard!

[laughter, chatter]

Y'all here to put on a show?
Nice. Nice.

-Good luck, boys.
-Thank you.

Yo, is this it?

[Guidugli] The quarterback room
is a great group of kids.

Riley's just kinda humble.

Brings a little country flair
to our room.

This is perfect.

[Guidugli]
Kenny's the music guy.

Kenny's gonna control
the stereo in our room.

CJ's always gonna be
the one that's early,
sitting there, ready to go.

Steve's kinda, like,
the elder statesman.

Kinda like the brains
of the operation there.

Thank you for being at the first
annual Notre Dame's Got Talent

presented by Pangborn Hall.

[cheering, applause]

[CJ] Love the energy.

-Love that.
-Love the energy.

I remember thinking, this
is why you come to Notre Dame,

just to experience the talent

among the students
on this campus.

They're the coolest people
in the world.

[discordant recorder melody]

[man in crowd] Let's go, Irish!

Good job, boys.

Let's go, Irish!
[clapping rhythmically]

Great job, boys.
Really proud of you.
Way to start the night off.

There was one guy who tried
to solve a Rubik's Cube.

It lasted, like, two minutes,

and he said he'd never solved
a Rubik's Cube in his life.

That was good. That was good.
That was good.

Hey, new one? New number one?

He's in first. He's in first.

There was an a cappella group
that was really good,

and a magician.

Cover the glass.
That glass becomes a bottle.

That bottle of course
becomes the full glass.

[crowd marvels]

[indistinct exclamations]

What? What? What?

It was all just a fun time.

Woo!

I mean, what are we
talking about?

[Brandell] When you're
the quarterback at Notre Dame,

it's different where
you are a student

and on campus and seeing
these people every day.

[moderator] Riley, you consider
yourself more of a front leg
or a back leg thrower?

I used to be a back leg thrower,
but probably front leg now.

Here we go.

-Sit or stand?
-I'm gonna sit.

[laughs]

[crowd laughs]

Hey, run it back.
Run it back. Run it back.

-Don't run it back.
-Run it back.

Don't run it back!

[laughter, chatter]

[Leonard] There we go.

[laughter]

This is amazing!

I love it here.

At the end of the day,
we spend more time together
than anybody,

and there are so many moments
outside of football
that we get to share together

that we've become pretty close
over the months.

[gentle, upbeat music playing]

* You're so wonderful,
it's true *

* I'm the flavor just for you *

* Just reach out
and I'll be there *

* Everything you want is here *

[Freeman] Yeah!

Good job, baby.

[Freeman] All spring, we've been
talking about bloody wounds.

If this group wants to reach
our full potential,

we have to endure
the bloody wounds.

If you do these things,

the physical bloody wounds,
the mental,

you build relationships,
you earn trust,

you try to learn this
information we're giving you,

at some point,
you're gonna improve

and hopefully
get the outcome you want.

At some point.

The one thing I can't tell you,

we don't know how much time
that's gonna be.

All I'm telling you,
if you do these things
we're telling you to do,

over time,
you're gonna reach those goals.

As I was really thinking
about this this morning,

I had to record a video
for a young man,

he had cancer.

What do you say? "Keep fighting.

We're praying for you.
Everybody at Notre Dame's
praying for you"?

Right? A kid. He's 11 years old.

So you think about time.

Our time together is limited.

So sometimes you gotta have
that perspective.

If you have great relationships
with the guys,

you'll know how precious
time is. Talk to Jaden Mickey.

That's real.

This is real.

[woman] We built this house
11 years ago

'cause there's places
for adults to go

through their
faith-based community

or through the hospital
or hospice.

But there's nowhere
for kids to go

and for kids to talk to.

And so that's how Erin's House
came about.

[Mickey] Erin's House was great.
It's a grieving house for people
who lost a loved one.

People don't know what
you're going through.
They don't know how it feels.

But this house puts you
around a bunch of people
who knows exactly how it feels.

-Nice to meet you. Jaden.
-I appreciate you coming out.

-No doubt.
-You gonna give some speech?

-He is.
-Yeah.

I'll be up there
for a little bit.

I'm extremely honored
to introduce

Jaden Mickey,

University of Notre Dame
cornerback, number seven.

He's from California,

and he is the son
of Nilka and Lamar Mickey.

[applause]

My mom was a person who
you're gonna get a text
from her every day.

You're gonna get a call,
maybe a FaceTime.

It's like, "Okay, Mom.
Another picture.

Another text. Another FaceTime."

But I've really grown
to appreciate those things.

I think the biggest thing
she left with me

was how to love people.

-Woo, Jaden!
-[Mickey VO] She loved the walk.

She always made sure to hop out
and give me a hug.

Love you, Jaden!

She loved Jaden
and loved rooting for him.

And she's Momma Mickey,
you know?

[commentator VO]
Pressure right in the face.

He throws an interception!

All kinds of space
in front of Jaden Mickey

and he takes it to the house!

When he got the interception
and ran it in,
two things I know.

I know my wife was gonna be
screaming on the couch,

and I know once he got
in the end zone,

he was gonna give glory to God.

[gentle, somber music playing]

[Mickey] It was COVID year.
We were at home,

and she had some pain
or something in her stomach

and she had to get it
checked out.

And for some reason,
I knew something was wrong.

So when she sat us down,

I figured something
was going on,

but it wasn't a big
emotional reaction out of me.

It was more just,
"Let's do it. Let's fight."

And you know, "Let's live
the rest of your life

with love and enthusiasm."

[man 2] His family lived
with us for, like, three months

because there was
a cancer treatment center

in Scottsdale, Arizona,
where I'm at.

I think that me being able to be
with her for that short time,

home for that week and a half,
you can see how special she is

and you can see
how she's in Jaden.

I remember being
in the team meeting

and my phone was going off

and I looked down
and it was his father.

It says, "Hey, call me
as soon as you can."

And I knew at that moment
something was serious.

[Mickey] The night before
the game, my dad called me.

He goes, "I don't know
how to tell you this,
but your mom passed away."

Um, and he was saying,
'cause my best friends
were over at the house that day,

and he said, "We were debating
on telling you this
after or before the game,"

and he starts crying, he goes,

"and I know I'd want
to know before the game."

[somber piano melody playing]

I remember,
after talking to Jaden
after he found out the news,

saying, "Go home."
I encouraged him, "Go home.

You don't have to play.
You don't need to play.
We understand."

And, uh, without hesitation,
"No, Coach.

I'm playing tomorrow,
and that's what my mom
would want me to do."

[commentator VO] Jaden Mickey
playing with a heavy heart,

losing his mother
in the last 24 hours.

[Lamar Mickey]
She wanted us to celebrate.

She wanted us to not be sad,
and so that's
what we've been doing.

But I know the passion
my son has for this game,

and he used to always say,

"I just want my mom
to see me ball."

These are colon cancer
awareness wristbands.

So if I need
a little more motivation

or something to get me going,
it's these wristbands.

It's big, as far as
what my "why" is

and how hard I go.

[piano melody fades]

We have a unique shirt that
we are going to wear pregame.

And this is a purple shirt,
right?

With the ND logo,

and on the back it has
Romans 15:13.

We are gonna wear this in honor
of Jaden Mickey's mother.

[gentle music playing]

[Mickey] So we got
the purple Notre Dame shirt.

My mom's favorite color.
She loved purple.

Her thing
was purple butterflies.

We all know
that's her favorite color.

Then on the back, Romans 15:13.

This is also one
of my favorite scriptures.

It's a blessing 'cause I know
my mom would've loved it.

I know she's smiling from above.

But every time I see
somebody with the shirt on,
I just feel like

they're wearing a piece of
my family and representing that.

So every time I see the shirt,
it reminds me of my mom.

[commentator 1 VO]
It's a rivalry
93 years in the making

as the Blue-Gold game is upon us

at Notre Dame Stadium.

[Mickey] I'm not a big crier,
but that walk got me a little

because picturing my mom
on the walk

and then seeing everybody
with the purple on

like she's still on the walk
with us.

[commentator 1 VO]
A spring filled
with practice and preparation

culminates today with
an opportunity to perform.

[Brandell] The fact that people
will come out,

thousands of people,
to watch practice,

the passion is so crazy
for Notre Dame football

and college football
across the world

that people look forward
to that spring game.

It ain't about the spring game.
It's about competition!

That's what it's about!

You gotta play with your heart!

Don't play for me!

Don't play for him!

When you play with your heart,
you're better.

And a better you is a better us.

[commentator 1 VO]
Angeli down the seam.
Raridon juggles it.

Now catches it. And he's in!

The Blue team strikes first.

Minchey's gonna take it and run.

And he's into the end zone.

And the Gold team
is on the scoreboard.

See where Minchey goes.
Pressure from behind.

And he goes down.
Ball came out as well.

-And the Blue team's got it.
-Be ready if we go back out.

[commentator 1 VO]
Beautiful ball!

And it's caught! Micah Gilbert
to tie the game.

[commentator 2 VO]
He's taking advantage.

[commentator 1 VO]
Again for Gilbert! He's got it.

It's another touchdown.

[commentator 2 VO] CJ Carr
was on time and on the money.

[commentator 1 VO] Mitchell,
all the way for a touchdown!

The Blue team wins it today,
28-21.

[commentator 2 VO]
Bragging rights.

[Freeman] Good, man. Good work.
Let me see that belt.

[excited chatter]

[cheering]

The champ is here.

-Champ is here!
-The champ is here.

[Freeman]
The biggest takeaway, make sure
we're on the same page,

is how do we use this

to continue to propel
this group forward?

Use what we've done
in these first 15 practices

to propel us through
the spring to the summer

and as we get into fall camp.

This is a journey
to get to August.

"Here come the Irish" on three.

-One, two, three.
-[all] Here come the Irish!

[poignant, dramatic music
playing]

[music fades]