Tag: Rylie Mills

Star Notre Dame defender declares for NFL Draft

Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills is going to the league.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] is moving on.

Mills declared for the NFL Draft on Monday.

He was a key anchor for the Notre Dame defense, though he missed the final three games with a right knee injury.

The five-year player had 37 total tackles and 7.5 sacks in 2024.

Mills posted a long thank-you note to Notre Dame fans on his Twitter account.

Notre Dame’s defense has now lost at least three stars to the NFL draft, with [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] and [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] also declaring. The departures aren’t necessarily unexpected given how crucial the Fighting Irish’s defense was to Notre Dame’s run to the national championship game, but they’re a blow nonetheless.

Notre Dame gets terrible news as another starter is out for the year
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 09: Rylie Mills #99 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates a sack against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium on November 09, 2024 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State injury report shows clean bill of health for Fighting Irish

Notre Dame says all student-athletes on the two-deep are available for the national championship game.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have no injury report surprises ahead of the national championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

According to the team, all student-athletes listed on the two-deep depth chart are available.

That means that [autotag]Beaux Collins[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] should be good to go. Offensive lineman [autotag]Rocco Spindler[/autotag], too.

Of course, some players like [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthonie Knapp[/autotag] are done for the season. Notre Dame has been hit by the injury bug, but yet the Irish have still advanced this far.

Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) celebrates a touch down the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Two Notre Dame football players earn ESPN All-American honors

Congrats to Xavier and Rylie!

Two members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team have earned ESPN All-American honors.

Safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] and defensive lineman [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] have been given the nod — Watts as a first-team All-American and Mills as a second-team.

Watts has 47 solo tackles, six interceptions, and one forced fumble in 2024-2025 — and there’s still one game to play. Mills is out for the rest of the season with an injury, but he racked up 19 tackles and 7.5 sacks before being sidelined.

Watts and Mills are two key pieces of a dominant Notre Dame defense that has led the Irish to the national championship game against Ohio State.

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Rylie Mills (99) celebrates after kicking a field goal against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Star Notre Dame DL ruled out for the Sugar Bowl

Notre Dame’s sack leader will miss the Sugar Bowl against Georgia

Star Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Rylie Mills has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 college football season and will miss the Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Mills leads Notre Dame in sacks with 7.5 sacks this season. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound senior suffered a knee injury in the Fighting Irish’s 27-17 first round College Football Playoff win over the Indiana Hoosiers.

No other Notre Dame player has more than four sacks, so Mills’ injury is a big loss for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame did return sixth year senior Howard Cross for the Indiana game after he missed some time with an injury, so it not all bad news for the Fighting Irish.

Georgia is without starting quarterback Carson Beck for the Sugar Bowl. Both Notre Dame and Georgia have several players in the transfer portal. Georgia has nine players in the portal right now, while Notre Dame has three. It is unclear if any Georgia or Notre Dame players in the portal will play in the Sugar Bowl.

Notre Dame football releases depth chart ahead of Georgia matchup

Notre Dame’s depth chart for Georgia brings few surprises.

The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish depth chart for the Allstate Sugar Bowl matchup against the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs is out.

The biggest name that’s not on it is [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] — the defensive end is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury suffered against Indiana in Notre Dame’s 27-17 win over the Hoosiers.

It appears [autotag]RJ Oben[/autotag] and [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] will replace Mills with [autotag]Joshua Burnham[/autotag], who also plays the Vyper pass-rush position, in the work.

Otherwise, there are few surprises on the depth chart. It’s nice to see [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] back at the top for defensive tackle now that he’s returned from an injury of his own.

One notable absence is offensive lineman [autotag]Charles Jagusah[/autotag]. While indications were that he was ready to return from injury, he’s not listed on the chart. We’ll have to keep an eye on his availability against Georgia.

Dec 20, 2024; Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with tight end Eli Raridon (9) after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame gets terrible news as another starter is out for the year

Terrible news for the senior, but some good news elsewhere

There was hope that Notre Dame football defensive end [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] knee injury that he suffered against Indiana in the first-round of the College Football Playoff wasn’t serious.

Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case, as on Monday during head coach Marcus Freeman’s press conference, he let everyone know that Mills will be out for the remainder of the year.

It’s another blow to the defensive line, which has now see Jordan Botelho, Boubacar Traore, and now Mills being ruled out for the year. Defensive tackle Howard Cross III did return against the Hoosiers, so that helped the depth. There is no one player that he singled out who will replace Mills, but knows that they have been preparing for this moment all season.

Freeman did bring some good news, as it looks like freshman offensive tackle [autotag]Charles Jagusah[/autotag] will be ready to go against Georgia. He was viewed as the potential starter in the spring and fall camps, and we didn’t expect to see him on the field this fall. How much he will play remains to be seen, but it’s great to hear that Jagusah is healthy again.

A few other updates that Freeman let us know about as linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, guard Rocco Spindler, linebacker Bodie Kahoun and wide receiver KK Smith are all questionable against the Bulldogs.

Day after: Final thoughts on Notre Dame’s impressive win over Florida State
Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills (99) celebrates getting a sack during a NCAA college football game against Florida State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in South Bend.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Third-Quarter Analysis

One quarter away from victory.

Notre Dame is in good shape to defeat Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff. There wasn’t a whole lot of action in the third quarter, but there was enough that people will talk about at game’s end.

[autotag]Jayden Harrison[/autotag] pitched the ball to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] on the opening kickoff of the second half, and that got the Irish into Hoosiers territory. The ensuing possession went nowhere, but [autotag]James Rendell[/autotag] punted the ball 31 yards to back the Hoosiers up to their own 12-yard line.

The Hoosiers went three-and-out after Kurtis Rourke was sacked by [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and then [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag]. Mills’ sack proved costly though as he went down and ended up limping off the field. Fortunately, he was up and moving on the sidelines and could return to this game.

The Irish began their next possession at the Hoosiers’ 41. A late hit out of bounds on third down put them in the red zone, but even that nearly went for naught. They came up short on a fake field-goal attempt but were bailed out by a Hoosiers timeout right before the ball was snapped. That prompted them to do the sensible thing and have [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] actually kick a field goal, which he did from 33 yards out after a false start penalty.

After another Hoosiers three-and-out, the Irish drove for a few minutes before ending the quarter on the outskirts of field-goal range. That 20-3 lead sure looks safe, but stranger things have happened in college football. We’ll see.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Is Howard Cross III playing today? Injury updates for Notre Dame DL

Notre Dame defensive lineman Howard Cross III is dealing with an ankle injury. Here are the latest updates.

Notre Dame defensive lineman [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] has been dealing with an ankle injury, and he’s questionable for today’s game at USC. Cross III has been a key part of the No. 5 Fighting Irish’s defense.

Howard Cross III injury update

Cross is questionable for today’s game. He is not listed on the two-deep depth chart. All student-athletes listed on the two-deep are available.

“Howard was close,” Notre Dame head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] said after the Irish beat No. 25 Army last week. “He practiced some. We just didn’t feel like he could give it a go.”

How long will Howard Cross III be out?

It is unclear how long Cross will be out, or if he’ll play this afternoon at USC.

Irish linebacker [autotag]Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa[/autotag] is out with a knee sprain, and linebacker [autotag]Bodie Kahoun[/autotag] is out as well. Notre Dame wide receiver [autotag]KK Smith[/autotag] is out with a broken collarbone.

Notre Dame defensive line depth chart

[autotag]Donovan Hinish[/autotag] and [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] will be expected to step up on the interior defensive line if Cross remains out.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame statistical leaders through 11 games

Who leads the Irish heading into the final regular-season contest?

Notre Dame has its fate in its own hands for the College Football Playoff. All it needs to do is defeat USC, and a first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium appears to be a certainty. Who would have thought the Irish would be in such a good position after the loss to Northern Illinois threatened to derail their season early?

The Irish can’t afford to get complacent though. The Trojans have not had a great season, but dealing the Irish a loss that could threaten their playoff chances would make up for everything that has gone wrong for them. That’s why the Irish will need to prepare for them like they would for any ranked team, and the talent they have should allow them to emerge victorious.

Here are the major statistical leaders the Irish are taking into their regular-season finale. Not all of them will be available, but they’re fun to see nonetheless:

Notre Dame vs. Army: Second-Quarter Analysis

The Irish have the lead halfway through.

Notre Dame’s defense did itself no favors at the beginning of the second quarter against Army. If one had told that unit the Irish would be up, xx-7, at halftime, they have might considered themselves lucky.

With the Knights near the end zone on third-and-short, [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] was penalized for hands to the face, which gave Bryson Daily the fresh set of downs he needed to run for a 4-yard touchdown and get his team on the board.

[autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] led an impressive offensive drive that began at the Irish’s 25-yard line and mainly consisted of run plays. The Irish ultimately got to the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal, but [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] lost a yard on a carry, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Backed up by their own end zone, the Knights went three-and-out for the third time in four drives. James Wagenseller’s punt only went for 32 yards, and Love carried the ball 41 yards over three plays for his second touchdown of the game.

Another Knights three-and-out followed, and Wagenseller’s ensuing punt went to midfield. After Leonard completed a 28-yard pass to [autotag]Kris Mitchell[/autotag], the Irish went with runs the rest of the drive, including one by Leonard that went for 13 yards and set the Irish up at first-and-goal. Leonard failed to score on two straight runs before handing it off to [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] for a 2-yard touchdown.

Daily ran the ball 20 yards on the Knights’ first play from scrimmage, but [autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag] forced a fumble, which was recovered by [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag]. The Irish tried to add onto their lead right before halftime, but after a false start penalty, [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt as the clock hit zero.

Things are looking good for the Irish, but there’s half the game left.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89