Original subtitles

[birds chirping]

Tonight's a little different. We have a little bit of a presentation or something.

["Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond playing]

Next up, we have karaoke. We have karaoke.

Offensive GAs, you up.

* Hands *

* Touching hands *

* Reaching out *

* Touching me *

* Touching you *

* Sweet Caroline *

* Ba-ba-ba *

* Good times never seemed so good *

* So good, so good, so good *

[Neil Diamond] * Sweet Caroline *

[horns playing]

* Good times never seemed so good *

* Sweet Caroline *

[horns playing]

* I believe they never could *

[shouting]

["Sweet Caroline" ending]

[clicks tongue]

Got your toothbrush, toothpaste, and...

of course, your pillow.

Try to pack pretty light.

You don't really gotta bring too much,

even though I'm bringing a pretty big suitcase.

So we're heading now to the hotel for fall camp.

We'll be in there for three weeks.

Everybody gets those fall camp jitters

and, you know, it's more just anxious to get out there and compete.

Gotta tap it, baby.

[mellow rock music playing]

Here we go.

Star Wars.

What's up? Checkin' in.

-What's the last name? -Leonard.

First name, Riley.

Let's see what we got, baby.

[laughing] All right!

Nice.

Got the corner room, bunch of windows.

That's what happens when you room with CJ Carr.

Always take the bed farthest from the door. Rule number one in a hotel.

Everybody knows that.

Really just kinda wanna chill, hopefully watch some Olympics, uh, play some cards,

and just really relax.

[upbeat music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

Hey, hey, you look good.

[man] The best part about production day is just... it's a chill vibe.

You don't got practice or anything to worry about,

so, um, just being together and connecting with everybody.

Today the first day of camp, now I'm a sophomore, baby!

And just really trying to start off camp the right way.

Strength staff. Strength staff.

Good? Awesome.

[Greathouse] Right now, we got our little unit pictures going on.

Take pictures with our position coaches,

and then we'll get a big team one going on right here.

Get to take pictures with the boys.

-There you are, in the middle. -Oh, right in the middle!

-Oh, I'm right next to you. -Uh, 15.

Bet!

So, is this 15?

Uh, we 15, right here, right in the middle.

Kennedy and everybody in his row, move over to the left.

[photographer] One, two, three.

-All right. -Fantastic job, fellas.

We'll go and do our media day stuff.

We'll do a little production stuff

for the video on the big board before games.

Just get turned up, really.

[laughter]

Just getting some good content just to show, like,

the more fun side of what we do,

and that's the kind of stuff that makes things here really special

because we put in the work but then we also get to do

fun stuff like this to really balance it out.

[cheering, applause]

[music fading]

[upbeat funk music playing]

Got a lot of freakin' rooms, man.

-Down here, 15 here. -All right.

We start camp tomorrow, so all the guys,

they moved into the hotel today.

This is the great opportunity

about these room check situations,

that you get a chance to go up and just kinda see the guys

when they got their hair down a little bit.

You got a lot of energy, man. All right?

-Get ready to wind down. You feel what I'm sayin'? -Word up.

They keep on keyin' on you, man. Let somebody else play.

You asleep already? Where your buddy at, asleep?

[man] Bed check is where, at ten o'clock,

one of the coaches on the staff will come in, check the room,

make sure guys are where they're supposed to be,

not sneakin' out or anything.

And it's a good time just to see the coaches, like,

get to know 'em, joke around with 'em a little bit.

I'ma mess with you tonight 'cause in a couple days, you ain't gonna wanna hear this.

Tonight, it's the first night,

you know, kinda bring a little juice,

kinda get a feel for where everybody at.

All right, let's set the tone, man.

You already know what's goin' on, man. Let's get it. Let's go.

Slow down when we're doin' walk-throughs, bro.

-All right. -You come crashin' everything down, man,

about to blow somebody's stuff up.

Fire it up. I can't wait to get started tomorrow

and see what you gonna do for us.

-Appreciate you, Coach. My man. -My man.

[Kiser] It's so nice, and you're able to be with your teammates

for three weeks at night, right?

When you get done with a long day at The Gug,

you come here and just hang out with the guys, talk,

mess around with the younger guys. It's always a fun time.

Ry!

[indistinct chatter]

[laughter]

[man] Smile pretty, bro.

You won't believe this. I was trimming my beard,

and I dropped the trimmer,

and it... and it broke off in the sink.

I'm literally like this, and it freakin' dropped.

Is it noticeable?

Yeah, there, there, and there, and nothing...

Well, I didn't get to finish the job, Zin, all right?

Can I... can I go in?

Wait, guys!

This is it! It snapped off!

You're ready for camp. Look at that.

[McCullough] It's exciting just to see guys

getting prepared for tomorrow, going through their routines,

and I just wanna come in, I don't want to do anything to throw 'em off.

I just want to have fun and get ready to roll.

We ready to go?

-We've been waiting up for you. -I understand.

We're excited to get rollin'. Right?

Go through spring ball, all the OTAs.

-Exactly. -PRPs that you go through.

-Yeah. -Ready to roll.

Ready to get... go against your guys.

Yeah, man, it's gonna be fun, know what I'm sayin'?

And like y'all always do, man, continue...

continue leading overall,

like, like you do anyway, man, that's your DNA.

Continue to take advantage of it.

Continue to communicate if there's things that come up.

But in the meantime, man, let's get it crackin'.

Appreciate you comin' by, Coach.

-Yeah, no doubt. -Thanks for tuckin' us in.

[mellow music playing]

-You drivin'? -Yeah, I'll drive.

Growing up on a farm, growing up in a small town,

it shapes you in a way to become a better person.

Do you wanna load the seed up? Should we put it in the back?

Yeah, we'll load it.

You learn what a work ethic is, right?

You learn to have patience and to deal with failure.

-You get that one. -Yeah.

[Kiser VO] My dad taught me, you know, hard work.

At the time, you didn't like it,

but looking back, it was really special moments.

-I should make you load 'em all. -You should.

You need a workout anyway.

It's good for you.

[Kiser] I remember back when we used to have livestock,

you know, with the pigs, going out there and shoveling the pens

and feeding the pigs with my brothers.

We're loadin' seed here to put in the planter.

We have a 12-row planter, so we fill it 12 bags at a time.

Twelve bags.

Try to get the seed ready, so that way,

when the planter's out,

it doesn't have to be stopped for too long.

Being the youngest child is, as your older siblings leave,

you kinda have to pick up their tasks and their chores,

and it really makes you understand how valuable having a teammate is.

Now, the problem is the rookie here put, um, bags upside down.

So, you got five upside down, mister.

[Kiser] Earliest memories of the farm would be

riding the combine during harvest, right, with my grandpa.

This is the thing in the fall.

It's the combine, what we'll harvest the corn with.

So, like, that's the big, expensive, expensive tractor.

So it'll pick all of our corn and soybeans and...

basically filter through the actual seed

versus, you know, all the junk, and all the junk will come out the back,

and the seed will actually stay up top

in the little hopper,

and then you pour it out this big pipe into the trailer

and send it off on its way.

[father] Harvest takes about two months.

October, November. Well, yeah.

Except you gotta stop every Saturday to go watch Notre Dame play, right? So...

[commentator VO] Threw an interception! Jack Kiser!

Notre Dame touchdown!

[hard rock music playing]

Jack Kiser has a chance to be

as good as anybody in a long time around here.

I see leadership.

I see confidence.

No challenge too big,

no job too small.

[Brandell] He's a blue-collar guy through and through.

He lives on a farm. It's like...

It's almost like Rocky IV where he's training in the mountains.

He's just got like the forearms and the neck

of a guy who was just built in the country.

[Morrison] You talk to Jack, and he's spot-on with everything he does.

I mean, there's not a day that Kiser isn't striving to be his best person.

It's spectacular the way he moves. You're gonna get the same dude every day,

and I think that's the best trait in a leader.

[man] He's the guy for us.

He's a shot-caller. If you didn't hear the play,

you missed something, Jack's got you.

Jack knows everything, knows everybody's position,

knows where everybody's going, what the other team is doing.

Jack is the head of the snake for us.

[Kiser's father on recording] Come on, Jagger!

Take off, buddy! Oh, good fake!

Oh yeah, comin' back in, comin' back in!

Oh!

The fire hydrant was the end zone,

and the tree over there was the end zone.

My older brothers were playing, so I wanted to play.

Being from Indiana, the Colts were a big deal,

and I have my Peyton Manning jersey

from like when I was five years old,

and, like, that's who I was in the backyard.

Like, that's how my siblings

could get me out there and tackle me

and make me cry because I gotta be Peyton Manning. So...

[father] Jack played with a different level of tenacity

as a five-year-old.

I mean, you could tell really young.

I mean, he was divin' for pylons

and sacrificin' his body at that age.

He was able to carry that and just continue to evolve that

as he... as he got older.

This was my dad's whiteboard.

My dad was our youth league coach.

He'd always bring this whiteboard to practice,

and we'd all sit crisscross applesauce,

and he'd draw up a play, and we'd go and walk it through.

It's all toss, veer,

midline. Easy stuff.

This was the first basketball hoop we put up out here.

My brother and I would be here playing one-on-one

on the basketball hoop.

-I already told 'em. -What?

-You've never planted before. -They've never let me plant.

My dad and my uncles, they all want to be the guy, right?

You know, they wanna be the reason why the rows are straight.

[Aaron] Every farmer gets judged by how straight he drives.

I guess I'll have a shot today.

Gotta make the most of the opportunity.

[laughs]

[light, mellow music playing]

[Aaron] All right, jump in there.

[Kiser VO] Coming from a small town, no one went to Notre Dame.

It seemed like it was too good to be true.

Right, it was just this amazing school

held on such a high pedestal

that it was almost unattainable.

And so, to get the opportunity to go there

and to play and get on that field and wear that gold helmet,

and to do all the things I've been able to do and been so fortunate to do,

like, it's so special, and it's very surreal.

[Kiser] When I come home, it's just so nice

to just decompress.

[music fading]

[soft music playing]

[Freeman] Welcome back. Here we go!

[rhythmic clapping]

-Ready, ready. -[all] TGS!

If you don't get excited for this, you don't love this game.

I'm so excited to be on this journey

with this group of men.

We will get to A&M.

We'll get to the rest of the season.

I promise you, but right now, we gotta stay in the moment.

You thinking about the future wastes the moment right now.

This is all we're guaranteed, man.

Stay in the moment and win it.

[spirited piano music playing]

Fall camp is an opportunity, I think, first and foremost,

to find out what your team is going to be.

You have an idea as a coaching staff

coming out of spring on what you think you are,

but personnel ultimately is gonna dictate what you are.

We gotta elevate, man.

That's the reality of where we're at.

How you respond right now is everything.

[Guidugli VO] For the players, it's a grind.

We're gonna tax their bodies physically

to make sure we're in shape for the season.

-Yeah! -[whistle blowing]

[Forde] I think the defense is gonna be a monster for Notre Dame this year.

You've got excellent players at all three levels.

[Golic Jr.] Starting with Howard and Rylie in the middle

and working through that linebacker level to Xavier

and Ben in the back end, the secondary

that's become a strength of this Notre Dame team

in a way I haven't seen in my lifetime.

[Freeman VO] I think the defense is at a level, when you go into year three,

that you know the ins and outs

of what you're trying to accomplish.

[Brandell] I want Notre Dame to punch people in the mouth again.

I want people to be like, "Ugh, I gotta go to Notre Dame this week."

And that's what this defense brings.

They're physical, they're smart,

and they make your life miserable.

[Freeman] I think Xavier Watts has extremely high instincts,

and he does some things that you really can't coach.

[commentator VO] Down the field and it is intercepted, Xavier Watts!

[Golden] We're asking kids to make that journey,

each one individually and then us as a unit collectively, right?

To move the technique from your head to your heart.

That's where he's operating right now, from the heart.

[commentator VO] Check his jersey, there must be a magnet!

Another one for Xavier Watts!

Xavier Watts becoming a star in the defensive backfield

for the Fighting Irish.

[Freeman VO] He's a guy that has truly had some adversity.

He's gotten better because of the challenges he's had in his life.

[gentle music playing]

[Xavier VO] My dad, everything that he's gone through

taught me just to... don't give up,

don't get knocked down, don't just stay down.

[father] Got the spinner knob,

so it just helps to turn with these

as opposed to the steering wheel.

This lever here,

you push forward for the brake and push down for the gas.

[Xavier] He taught me you don't know what could happen,

so I'm just kinda just livin' in the moment,

just take it with a full heart

and just, you know, just live it and just love it.

[mellow cello music playing]

-Oh, nice, throw that one. -Football!

[mother] Jeff and I were young when we had Xavier,

but just pure joy to say, "Oh my gosh,

we are now responsible for a human being,

this little human being."

[Jeff] Every man wants to have a son.

You just dream of having a boy

and kinda just bonding with him

and teaching him how to become a man and whatnot.

When you have your children,

you want to be there and teach them how to do everything.

I really just wanted him not to go down the same path

that I was going down.

[Fallon] He's very open and honest about things

that he should not have been involved in at a young age.

[Jeff] Just hangin' out with my buddies

in the neighborhood we hung out in,

guys that, you know, we had problems with

or, you know, just like neighborhood, childish beef.

[Fallon] From my understanding, words were exchanged, and then,

guns came out and shots were fired.

I instantly could feel that I was...

something wasn't right 'cause I couldn't get up and walk.

I didn't even know where I was shot at in my body,

but I knew that something wasn't right, so,

uh, my buddies just put me in the car

and drove me to the hospital,

and after I woke up, that was when I knew,

you know, the doctors told me I was paralyzed

at that moment, so...

[Fallon] I just remember getting a phone call from Jeff

saying that he loved me, he loved Xavier.

And I'm just like,

"What are you talkin' about?" on the other end of the phone.

He's like, "I just got shot."

I didn't process it. Right, like,

we're 20 years old at the time,

and hearing someone say,

oh, this person's never gonna walk again, like,

you honestly do not know what that means.

Like, not knowing, again, the extent

of how our lives changed that day.

[mellow music playing]

Xavier was definitely our saving grace in our relationship

to keep both myself and Jeff going.

I always just been like,

"Hey, we're gonna get through whatever pops up in life,

and-and you just gotta figure it out."

I knew I had to be strong for him.

[Fallon] I told Xavier, "Your dad is different

in the sense of his physical being,

but he's still Dad."

I always say, "He still loves you.

He'll still play with you. He'll just do it differently."

[Xavier] At a really young age,

you know, you can see your dad in a wheelchair,

you know he's not like other dads,

but at the same time,

he still was a human, and he just couldn't walk.

He was still able to do all those things that involved sports.

[Fallon] Go, go, go! Go, go, go!

[cheering]

[Xavier] It wasn't different at all. It was the exact same way

that I would grow up if he would be able to walk.

I just remember Jeff just saying like, "You know what?

I messed up terribly, right?

However, I'm gonna make it right with my child

and make sure that he knows that he can do anything."

I think by him showing Xavier, like,

"Hey, I'm in this wheelchair,

but I'm gonna make the best of the circumstance that I'm in,"

so that Xavier knows that, hey, there's consequences

to decisions that you make,

but whatever those consequences are, you just gotta keep goin'.

[door whirring]

[soft, bright music playing]

[Xavier] He still goes to the gym.

It still pushes me just seeing

that he's still going out to work hard.

I'm usually there for about an hour, maybe an hour and 15 minutes.

I just gotta stay strong, keep me motivated.

It helps get my blood circulatin'.

Sometimes he has someone helping him 'cause he needs help with it sometimes,

but it's exciting to see that he wants to stay in shape.

My boy.

[Xavier] Pushes me still to do the same.

[Jeff] People always come up to me and just tap me

and they say, "Hey, I just wanna tell you,

like, you motivated me today,

and it's awesome that you're in here working out."

Gettin' my workout in. Good to see you.

And so when I hear that stuff from people,

it low-key just lets me know that, hey,

I'm, like, kinda helpin' people

get through whatever it is they're gettin' through as well when they see me doin' things.

[Xavier] Just kinda what he's gone through is motivating me

to just continue doin' what I'm doin',

just work hard and don't really just take anything for granted.

[Jeff] You can kinda teach your son right and wrong.

And maybe some things that you messed up on early on,

you can kinda steer him away from that

and to stay out of trouble

and just to be a good person overall.

Xavier had to grow up a little bit quicker than other folks.

It's a sense of relief for me

knowing everything that our family has had to endure,

and to see him now at this point

where his hard work, his patience,

his determination has really paid off.

[Freeman] All right, let's roll. We have one last special speaker for tonight.

He graduated from the University of Notre Dame

where people say that he's, like,

one of the best punters ever to come here.

He's our new athletic director,

Pete Bevacqua.

[applause]

[soft music playing]

I grew up with Notre Dame football.

It's been a passion of mine.

I don't have a memory in my life

without Notre Dame football.

Nobody's lukewarm on Notre Dame.

Everybody either loves this football team or hates this football team.

You can kinda be afraid of the chaos

or you can embrace the chaos.

And strong organizations with strong identities

get stronger during chaotic times,

and it's never been a better time

to be at Notre Dame.

Football's in the DNA of Notre Dame.

You wear that logo

anywhere in the country,

anywhere in the world,

people know what it is.

["Love Is All We Need" by Anders Johan Greger Lewen & James Joseph Johnson playing]

* Love is all we need *

* Love is all we need *

* I said, love is all we need *

[shouting]

Really good. Really good, really good.

[music fading]

[solemn music playing]

[Freeman] This trip coming to New York for us at Notre Dame football

is our own media days.

We're not in a conference, so as you look at the other conferences in the country,

they have their own media days.

We use this time every year to really bring

our program to New York.

[Leonard] I think the coolest part is everywhere we go, every street we go to,

there's some Notre Dame fan, whether you see somebody

wearing a Notre Dame shirt or somebody coming up to us.

It's a national brand, and you get to experience it

in the biggest city in the world.

[Freeman] Being at ESPN and getting on the different shows,

each show is a different experience.

From College Football Live to SportsCenter,

then you're on Get Up.

How you doin'?

Greeny, so good to see you.

Good to see you as well.

Appreciate y'all having us.

Oh, we are thrilled.

[overlapping chatter]

[Freeman] You have a segment with Ryan Clark and Jordan.

I think that was so cool because there was a job that you have to get done,

but there was an element of a father

and a son doing a show together.

I know what RC is like when he's just our colleague.

What's it like when this guy is your dad?

Uh, he's more like my best friend than he is my dad.

Before games, I think he understands that I'm already locked in.

He don't do too much yellin' or talkin'.

An unreal duo. They're like best friends, honestly.

I don't like sittin' by the other parents

because they wanna talk football with me,

and I ain't here to talk football, I'm here to be a dad.

[Freeman] Ryan Clark and Jordan, man, are... they're two of the same.

They look similar, but, too, they have same mannerisms.

They dress the same, and I think it's awesome.

So as of now, he's never beaten me in a race.

I don't think that's true.

I don't think that's true. I'm pretty sure we raced and I think I won, bro.

-Okay, whatever. -You might be capped out.

If he ain't got no video, it never happened.

[Jordan] Bring your kid to work day, you know, kinda sorta.

Just get to spend this time with him and Free, get to know Free better,

bring him around my family and get to experience what my dad does at work.

[Freeman] I think, deep down, we all love, as fathers,

when you hear somebody say, "Man, your son looks just like you,"

or "Your son acts just like you,"

most fathers probably take that as a compliment,

and I thought it was just a great opportunity

for those two to get together.

[light music playing]

The plan tonight is we're gonna go

to the Broadway show Hamilton,

and once I started telling people, "Hey, this is what we're gonna do,"

people have been raving about this opportunity

for all of us to go and to experience Hamilton,

so I'm looking forward to it.

[applause, cheering]

[Leonard] The practice that that takes.

You think our practices are hard?

This is awesome. This is really cool.

-You're a fan? -Huge fan of Hamilton. Oh my goodness.

[Freeman] B-Mo likes the finer things in life, so, uh,

I'm sure he's into theater.

I'm sure he'll-he'll enjoy it tonight.

Notre Dame, we're gonna file in.

If you have liquid, just leave it right here before you go onto the stage.

Watch your head and watch your step.

It's really steep and really shallow.

I'm not gonna sing it with Eliza.

[laughing]

* Eliza and Benjamin *

[laughing]

Nice to meet you guys. Yeah. Nice to meet you.

Yeah, I'm definitely the weakest, that's for sure.

-I'm more excited to meet you. -[laughter]

I wish I could do this every day.

Oh my God. No, that is so awesome.

Like, it's so funny 'cause my dad is-- he was an athlete,

just here and there, he still plays hockey in like a rec league.

And he always tells me, he's like,

"You... what you are doing is at your highest level."

-Yeah. -"And you are an athlete too."

And he always just, like, uses athletic analogies.

So I actually understand so much about, like,

how much work it takes to get to the top of your...

-I was thinking-- Yes. -...top level of what you do.

You want me to sing, right?

-Yes! -[indistinct shouting]

-[shushing] -[laughter]

Do you need a beat? Do you need a beat?

* Stay alive *

-[laughing] -[cheering]

* Alexander Hamilton *

* Where have you been? *

* I'll never be satisfied *

This might've been the highlight of my trip.

I'm... I feel like a little kid.

I'm the biggest fan.

-Perfect. -Yeah.

-Awesome. -Thank you.

[soft music playing]

[Kiser] The funniest thing is, like, I would've never thought

I would've ever ended up proposing in New York City.

Like, that's not who I am.

I'm literally from the smallest town ever,

and now I'm in the biggest city in America.

Today's the day, like, I'm gonna ask Meagan to marry me.

Really excited about it.

We've been together for six years,

known each other for ten.

Really special day.

So Notre Dame's here promoting the games

that we're playing in New York City,

and they released a social media post,

and I wasn't included on the roster that was coming in

to, you know, be part of the promotion.

He was even telling me about it, like, "Man, my girlfriend

was kinda mad at you for not bringing me

because you knew that she was here."

She lives here in New York City.

She's been working here since January.

So she was really bummed out that I wasn't coming

to be with her and spend the weekend with her.

But little does she know, I am here.

[Freeman] So I was willing to take a little heat

to make sure he could surprise her, but proud of him.

Brent went to Notre Dame. He was my roommate.

He lives in New Jersey now.

Brooke's a local here in New York.

They've been helping the last couple weeks set this all up.

[Leonard] He'd been planning it for months in advance.

We were all in on it.

-So come up on that side. -Okay.

All right, then be like, "Oh, can you take a picture?"

I'll come this way. I'll do a fast walk.

Might have to get her to take a couple, look, do it again.

So the ring's pretty sparkly.

That was her one request.

I think she's gonna love it.

I feel it in my chest right now. Like, ugh.

Okay, they're on the move.

Got the text.

It's gonna be a special moment,

something I'll remember for a long time,

and I hope she loves this,

the scenery that I kinda put together,

and loves it as much as I do.

[gentle music playing]

Hey, Meagan.

What the heck?!

[Meagan laughing]

What are you doing here?

Wanted to come and surprise you.

-Meagan... -[crying softly]

You're my best friend,

and I love you so much.

You're so kind and beautiful.

And you're so selfless,

and you sacrificed so much for me.

I want to go on so many adventures with you.

[Meagan sniffles, chuckles]

Will you marry me?

Yes. [laughing]

Oh my God, I can't believe you're here.

We gotta see if it fits.

It was supposed to rain four days ago.

-[Meagan] Oh, was it? -Yes, and I was so stressed.

-Oh, I love you. -I love you.

[music fading]

[Freeman] Last thing. We're gonna vote on captains here in a minute.

And I thought about this deeply today,

right, in terms of what I view as a captain.

Captains gotta lead.

Okay, they have to lead.

You're willing to challenge your teammates,

you're willing to challenge your coaches,

you're willing to challenge anybody.

Right, you just don't go with the norm.

You gotta be willing to make decisions that not everybody's gonna like.

We might have five captains. Might have two captains, three.

I'll decide once I calculate the vote.

You're gonna get a chance to vote for four people.

I don't care what side of the ball they are.

You all gotta decide, do you want to be a captain or not?

I'm gonna make you come up here and say,

"I want to be a captain," in front of your teammates.

Right, look at it, 'cause you guys gotta figure out,

"Who am I gonna vote? Who am I gonna do?"

Okay, just take a glimpse, okay?

You're gonna vote for four of these people.

[Forde] If you're a captain at Notre Dame, that's a forever title.

People will remember that your entire life.

[Kiser] Being a captain at Notre Dame

and wearing a C on your chest

is symbolizing being a Notre Dame man.

That's one of the biggest compliments you can ever have.

Morrison, Kiser, Collins, Leonard.

Watts, Kiser, Morrison, Leonard.

Kiser, Leonard,

Mills, Morrison.

Olivia and I are counting the votes of the captains.

So we're going through and tallying all the votes

and kinda seein' where we land.

You guys already done it?

No, we're about halfway through.

-All right. -Wanna see what we have so far?

Yeah, where we at?

I think as you look back at the many great leaders

that have been named captain throughout the years here,

I think it would be a huge, tremendous honor

to be chosen by your team to lead 'em.

That's why I love the term "captain."

Beaux has 22.

Kiser, 127.

-Is it Kiser/Leonard? -Mm-hmm.

One, two, three, four, five, six guys on offense

in double digits.

That's impressive.

All right.

I'll name five.

Take a knee. Take a knee. Everybody good?

What I want to do now is announce the '24 captains.

I'ma bring 'em all up here,

and then, uh, we'll clap for you

and then you guys can say a couple words, okay?

First guy is Jack Kiser. Come on up.

[applause, chatter]

Next guy, Riley Leonard.

Rylie Mills.

[applause]

Benjamin Morrison.

Last one is Xavier Watts.

[applause]

Football!

Go!

I love y'all boys. You know, gonna go out there and dominate.

I'ma push y'all. I want y'all to push me.

No matter what the title is, like Coach said,

everybody can be a leader, just step up. I love y'all. Let's go.

[Aaron on recording] Come on, Jagger!

[Kiser] I think the kid playing in the backyard over there,

knowing if he had a C on his chest at Notre Dame,

wearing a gold helmet, he'd be pretty proud of himself.

Everything I've ever done is for this team.

I'm gonna continue to do everything for this team and make this team better.

It's our job to push each other forward.

To know that you were voted on by your teammates

to represent them

and to be their leader, like,

what more could you ask for?

[music fading]

[spirited piano music playing]

[Forde] I think Notre Dame's really kind of on the cusp

of sustained excellence here.

The pieces are in place.

[Brandell VO] It feels like Notre Dame can line up and play with anybody.

I think the vibes are high

because the expectations are high.

[Golic Jr.] Given the defense that they've got coming back,

given what Marcus Freeman and the staff

were able to do with the transfer portal,

the expectation is you make the College Football Playoff,

you win games in the College Football Playoff.

It's a big year, right? People expect a lot from us.

Everybody feels it.

We're all one goal, but our goal is to be the best.

We want to go undefeated. There is no question.

[Freeman] We gotta remember, it's gotta be special to come in this place.

It's a privilege to play here, but we gotta make sure

that it's something different about protecting our home turf.

The opportunity to come back, be a leader on the team

that has a chance of doing something that hasn't been done in so long.

That's something I hold very dear to my heart.

I want to bring a national championship to Notre Dame.

I'm proud of you, men. Let's keep building it together.

Coaches, players, staff.

Just keep building this thing together.

That's what we do.

[music fading]

* You're like Heaven, like Heaven to me *

* You're the flowers, the birds and the bees *

* You're the green grass, the leaves on the trees *

* You mean everything to me *

["Like Heaven" playing]

* You're the sun warming my heart *

* You're the stars lighting up the dark *

* You're the rainbow, the moon up above *

* You're the only one that I am thinking of *

* You're like Heaven, like Heaven to me *

* You're the flowers, the birds and the bees *

* You're the green grass, the leaves on the trees *

* You mean everything to me *