Final days of practice for Notre Dame football before facing Texas A&M

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Irish simulate the noise and factor in the recent heat wave to prepare for their SEC opponent in a top 20 matchup.

Timing couldn't be more perfect for Notre Dame during game week. High temperatures and even some rain to help for whatever comes their way in College Station, TX Saturday evening in week one of the season against the Aggies.

"Coach Free keeps talking about the blessing from God that we get this weather. So, I mean, he says, give thanks out there on the field the way you practice. Because I think it was 97 out here, and that's what's going to be like when we go down there to college station," Junior Cornerback Benjamin Morrison said.

Unfortunately, the heat isn't the only factor the Irish has to prepare for. Kyle Field is known as the "12th Man" because the amount of noise coming from 100,000 plus fans. That's enough to cause penalties for an experienced team. It can be even more nerve wrecking for a young offensive line, starting one True Freshman, a redshirt freshman, and only six starts between five starters. But that doesn't seem to worry Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard.

"Notre Dame. It's the mecca of offense alignment in college football. So, anybody who's going to be blocked for me on Saturdays is going to be the best of the best. That's who we recruit here. They're going to be great men. They're going to be fully prepared. They're gonna be able to get the job done. So like, it's Notre Dame, that's what we do, is we run the ball, we protect the quarterback," Leonard added.