Tag: Notre Dame injuries

Who can replace Boubacar Traore for Notre Dame?

Here’s who may replace Boubacar Traore.

Notre Dame has lost another key defensive lineman to injury. Now the Fighting Irish will have to look for a replacement.

End [autotag]Boubacar Traore[/autotag] is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. The defensive end was injured in the first half of the Fighting Irish’s 31-24 win over the Louisville Cardinals. Traore had 11 tackles, five tackles for loss, and led the Irish with three sacks. He was also tied for second on the team for most quarterback pressures with eight — Howard Cross III has the most at 9.

With Traore joining Jordan Botelho on the injured list, who’s next?

[autotag]Junior Tuihalamaka[/autotag] seems the most likely replacement. Thus far the junior has seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and a half of a sack.

Freshman [autotag]Loghan Thomas[/autotag], who played 14 snaps versus Louisville, seems likely to see a lot more action.

Head coach Marcus Freeman also pointed to Josh Burnham, who is returning from injury, RJ Oben, and Bryce Young, as possible replacements.

Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka (44) celebrates after an interception in the first quarter against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

“Josh is a guy that could play either field end or Vyper for us. RJ Oben and Bryce Young, obviously, have done a good job at the field end position, and Junior has done a really good job stepping up at the Vyper position, as well as Loghan Thomas getting some reps,” Freeman said. “And so you have five quality individuals that can play the end position for us. And we’ve got to have guys step up, just like Junior has done. And I’m confident that if something would happen again that we’ll have to have another guy step up.”

Vyper is another term for rush end.

Burnham and Young each have four tackles and 1 quarterback hit, and Young has blocked a kick on special teams. Thomas has one tackle and 1 quarterback hit, while Oben has eight tackles — four solo and four assisted.

Based on Freeman’s quote, Tuihalamaka seems likeliest to have the most impact with Traore out, with Burnham and Thomas following. Oben and and Young seem more likely to see most of their reps at field end.

Either way, Traore’s loss is a tough pill to swallow for the Irish.

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Injury bug again hits Notre Dame as another contributor lost vs. Louisville

The Irish’s depth is tested once again

In what has become a bad storyline for Notre Dame football this fall, they once again found themselves getting its depth tested after losing two more starters.

Already down multiple offensive lineman and defensive end Jordan Botelho, the Irish ended up losing his replaced [autotag]Boubacar Traore[/autotag] to a knee injury in the first half. The nation’s freshman sack leader looked visibly distraught on the sidelines, with ice wrapped on right left knee. The Peacock broadcast confirmed that he will be out for the remainder of the game.

That wasn’t the end of the injury woes, as running back [autotag]Jeremiah Love[/autotag] left the game towards the end of the first half. He would get to the medical tent almost immediately after taking a carry, where he lost three yards.

Luckily for Love, it didn’t appear serious as he returned for the final play of the half. Hopefully, it was just a scare like his backfield mate quarterback Riley Leonard. It did seem like he may have re-injured his non-throwing shoulder, as he left for one play after landing on it before returning. It’s obviously something to monitor going forward.

It’s been a trying year on this end for Notre Dame.

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Notre Dame football – Austin injury news massive blow to Irish passing game

Notre Dame was dealt a huge blow this week as news has come down that they’ll be without wide receiver Kevin Austin for the rest of the year

We found out on Saturday afternoon that wide receiver Kevin Austin was not going to be able to play against Pitt as the Notre Dame Football PR team made the announcement on Twitter.

Along with Austin, starting corner back Tariq Bracy and reserve offensive lineman Josh Lugg were ruled out for Saturday’s fame as well.

As it would turn out, it’s brutal news for Notre Dame in regard to Austin, who was supposed to be the most complete receiver on the roster this season.

Austin missed the first two games of the year with a broken foot that he suffered in fall camp. Unfortunately this week, Austin suffered another injury to the foot and according to The Athletic, will be done for the year.

Austin only had one reception for 18 yards on the season but his potential was a large reason for there be hope that Notre Dame’s passing issues would take off as they’ve struggled to get going over one-third of the way the through the season.

Other wide receivers Ben Skowronek, Lawrence Keys, III and Braden Lenzy have also dealt with injury issues this year that certainly not helped the cause. Perhaps the loss means a chance for the likes of freshmen Jordan Johnson and Xavier Watts to see the field but don’t get it confused, this is a massive hit for a group that was already both battling injuries and struggling to produce.

Notre Dame injury update: Only one Irish player ruled out

There is just one Notre Dame football player that has been ruled out of today’s contest against Louisville, wide receiver Lawrence Keys III.

It’s always good news when there aren’t many players showing up on an injury report. That’s exactly the case today as just one player, wide receiver Lawrence Keys III will miss today’s matchup against Louisville.

That means the Irish are virtually at full strength, as Keys III had lost his punt returning job and hasn’t really factored into the passing game this year. Great to see the Irish healthy as they face the Cardinals today.