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Notre Dame football coaches and players rely on visualization

Notre Dame football coaches and players rely on visualization

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SOUTH BEND – Even now, six years into his Notre Dame football career, All-America defensive tackle Howard Cross III has yet to practice.

Before he can do great things on the field, Cross needs to be a dominant force in his mind.

“Visualization to me is just imagining myself doing well,” Cross said as a 12th this weekThThe No. 1-ranked Irish are preparing to face non-No. 1 seed Stanford. “Imagine what you want to do and you will do it.”

That could mean asking the scout team’s offensive linemen to simulate precise blocking techniques that Cross would expect after studying reams of game video. On his way to leading a team in quarterback passing nine times, Cross has gotten dozens, if not hundreds, of positive reps in practice.

“I’ll ask the scout team guys, ‘Hey, throw that hip’ or ‘Do that specific thing,'” Cross said, “because he’ll do that.”

“He” is the opposing center or guard who Cross expects to headbutt more than 50 times on a typical Saturday.

His namesake father, who played at Alabama and became a Super Bowl champion tight end for the New York Giants, taught his son the power of visualization. As kickoff draws ever closer, the younger Cross practices himself into a trance state of positive mental outcomes while killing time in his apartment.

“My dad was like, ‘Walk around the house and practice your hands,'” Cross said.

They don’t call him “Fast-Hands Howard” for nothing.

The skull sessions continue, even after Notre Dame’s pregame prayer circle on defense. While many Irish players dance to the beat of their favorite music and use noise-cancelling headphones to ease their pre-match nerves, Cross can be seen Facetiming his family as he slowly strolls around the pitch.

“I call my dad all the time,” Cross said. “I try to call him when I’m on the field. He’ll cheer me on before I go back to the locker room and start changing. It’s just nice to hear my dad trying to cheer me up. It makes me happy.”

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Long walks and fast-paced rehearsals for Al Golden

Notre Dame’s coaches also need to get in the right headspace.

Ask defensive coordinator Al Golden how often he uses visualization and he’ll give you a knowing smile.

“A lot,” he said, repeating the phrase for emphasis.

It’s a process Golden has honed over his three-decade coaching career, including as defensive coordinator at Virginia, where renowned sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella, a believer in visualization, was a key collaborator.

“I never close my door except on Thursday afternoons,” Golden said. “Right before unit meetings, I try to finalize the call list. And then on Friday I watch as many TV copies as I can. It’s like game time, game speed. Do they pace themselves? Are they in and out of the huddle? What are they? Get my point.”

Those laminated Waffle House menus that modern football coaches carry on the sidelines? They’re great for shielding in-game calls from hostile lip readers, but no guru worthy of his get-out clause ever wants to get too involved with them.

“I’m always trying to get to the point where I don’t need the call sheet anymore,” Golden said. “The call sheet is supposed to kind of say, ‘Okay, is this right?’ Is that right? Are we going the right way? Did I call that?’ If I had a little spot on it, was that the last time I called it that?

“But I really try to call the game in my head and without their (call sheet) help. And then I try to go for walks on Thursdays and Fridays. I’m trying to go for a walk.”

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Much like Cross karate-walking through his living quarters, Golden’s campus walk takes place in solitude and within the confines of his fertile imagination.

“I have my call sheet and I go for a walk and I just go through the different calls,” Golden said. “And then why and how we will implement it.”

Game days, especially at home, are full of pageantry and adrenaline.

From morning walkabouts to pregame Mass at the basilica to a quick pep rally on the fan-lined path to Notre Dame Stadium, one could easily lose sight of the day’s primary purpose. Marcus Freeman and his Irish coaching staff won’t let that happen.

“Champion walk, locker room, we pray quick at midfield,” Golden said. “Come in. Welcome some recruits. And then I just try to lie flat on my back, look at the call sheet and go over it again, in a kind of silence.”

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Once the game begins, such silence is paramount in an age of sideline iPads and NFL-style helmet communication systems.

“I always go through this when the other guys are coaching their guys,” Golden said. “I’ll go through, ‘Okay, how do I see the next third down and 3 to 6 (yards)’? How do I see the next (third and) 7 to 10? What are my next 11-plus calls?’ … I try to visualize and rehearse it as best as I can so it’s clean.”

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Veteran special teams coordinator Marty Biagi, a former punter and placekicker at Marshall, also believes in the “see before action” concept.

“I’ve always done visualizations, especially with our specialists,” said Biagi, who previously worked at Ole Miss, Purdue and North Texas, among others. “Everywhere I’ve been before, I’ve always done it.”

Team sports psychologist Joey Ramaeker, who has gained additional influence this year, is an important part of the process.

“We use Joey a lot,” Biagi said. “I met him several times. The great thing here is that Joey is there. He meets with them and guides them through a visualization and meditation process.”

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Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman on freshman CB Leonard Moore

Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman on freshman cornerback Leonard Moore’s “extremely high ceiling.”

Whether it’s placekicker Mitch Jeter, a South Carolina graduate; Australian player James Rendell, a college football freshman; or long snappers Rino Monteforte and Andrew Kros, both first-year starters, Notre Dame specialists are well versed in mental preparation.

“When they step on the field, they have a mindset and a set that they go through and a routine just to prepare mentally,” Biagi said. “They know when they literally cross the white (line) on the field that they are in their phrase and their zone, so they can try to perfect and execute their technique.”

Each specialist has some kind of unique mantra that is adapted week by week.

“That’s what we’re talking about,” Biagi said. “The phrase is specific to this player in this game in this role. Each species has its own.”

Biagi, who also supports Notre Dame’s defensive backs, has his own mental process leading up to game day.

It’s about “trying to always be one step ahead and really paying attention and using insights from previous games and previous assessments and making sure we’ve gathered all the information,” he said.

When it comes time to call for a complete punt block or a reverse kickoff return, the ideas flow naturally.

“At the end of the day it’s still football,” Biagi said. “Good things and bad things still happen, but it’s more of an educated guess than just, ‘Oh, we’ll try it and see.’ We really feel like we took a lot of the risk in those big game moments and then have the confidence in our players to execute and make those explosive plays.”

Biagi doesn’t bring any personal mantra into play.

“I’m trying to really utilize what we did with Coach Freeman,” he said. “I try to work on my breathing and stay in the moment, just to make sure I’m not too high or too low. That way, I don’t make an emotion-based decision on any game.”

Marcus Freeman and the home turnaround

As for Freeman, given the varied responsibilities of Notre Dame’s head coach, maintaining his pregame rituals can be difficult.

Home games, in particular, are great opportunities to build relationships with recruits and their families, whether in football or basketball or another sport or department.

“There are certain things you have to do as the head coach of this football program at home games that are different than you do at away games,” Freeman said. “But you can’t cheat that. You can’t cheat when meeting with recruits because this is the future of your program. You can’t cheat when you go to mass; This is more important than anything else.”

In addition, there are the procedural tasks, which also include responsibilities towards broadcasting rights holders and the like.

“You have to talk to the officers,” he said, “and (there are) some other things you have to do.”

But that doesn’t mean Freeman hasn’t learned to give himself just enough quiet time to ensure those fourth-round picks and so many others expected of him are on point.

Since beginning his head coaching career with losses in two of his first three home games, including a fumble against Stanford in 2022, Freeman has gone 10-2 at Notre Dame Stadium.

“I make it a point to make sure my mind is in the place it needs to be before I step on that field,” Freeman said. “Just like we need from every person in this locker room. Before you enter the field, make sure you are focused, that your focus is narrowed, and that you are ready to go out and do your job in your role, no matter what it is.”

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.