JD Bertrand, Mitchell Evans out for Notre Dame against Central Michigan

Notre Dame will be without a key player on defense against Central Michigan, with linebacker JD Bertrand listed as out for the contest on the team’s availability report.

In addition to Bertrand, tight end Mitchell Evans has also been ruled out for the contest.

Bertrand’s absence, though, will have a significant impact in the contest. Bertrand has been a team captain and an elite leader over the past couple years for the Fighting Irish.

Last season he recorded 82 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 2.0 sacks and three passes defended. JD Bertrand is dealing with a concussion that has kept him out.

“He’s in concussion protocol,” coach Marcus Freeman said on Monday. “So he’ll be non-contact tomorrow, but I talked to him yesterday. He’s doing much better. But he’s in concussion protocol, so to be determined right now.”

Marcus Freeman praises resilience, Sam Hartman’s performance vs. NC State

It wasn’t easy at first, battling through a 105-minute weather delay, but Notre Dame came away with its biggest win of the season on Saturday. The Fighting Irish defeated NC State 45-24 in Raleigh behind a strong performance from Sam Hartman on offense and a defense that created multiple second-half turnovers.

It was an impressive showing on both sides of the ball — one Freeman said showed him a lot about this year’s team.

“They’re the resilient bunch of guys, man,” Freeman told ABC’s Molly McGrath after the game. “We always talk about staying in the moment. We don’t control the weather, we don’t control having a two-hour delay. We control what we do when they put the ball down. And I was glad to see them really go out and do a great job with that.”

Hartman shined against a team against he struggled with while at Wake Forest. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns to help lead Notre Dame to the victory. Much was made in the lead-up to the game about how Hartman performed against the Wolfpack in the past, bringing a 1-2 record against NC State into the game.

To Freeman, the way he battled back stood out after some stalled drives.

“I think it was the ability to continue to go,” Freeman said. “We started off two three-and-outs, and they were aggressive. They were aggressive all game long. But the ability to get settled down, come out the next series and go and execute, that’s what I was most pleased about.”