Marcus Freeman says Brandon Joseph got 'nicked up'

Despite the Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s 44-21 win over UNLV this past Saturday, injury concerns linger heading into Week 9.

Transfer safety Brandon Joseph played just 10 snaps, all in the first half. Head coach Marcus Freeman said Joseph got “nicked up,” which limited his ability to contribute on defense. He was still Notre Dame’s primary punt returner all afternoon, which is a good sign as far as his status goes for the game versus Syracuse.

“We wanted to keep him out in terms of defense,” Freeman said of Joseph. “He still went back there and returned punts, did a good job, but that was a nick. He’ll be good to go this week.”

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Joseph transferred from Northwestern for the 2022 season and he’s currently eighth on the team in tackles with 25. He also has a forced fumble. As a punt returner, he’s returned 13 punts for 135 yards through seven games for the Irish.

Starting linebacker Jack Kiser was also banged up in Week 8, playing just five snaps on Saturday. Freeman shared that Kiser has a bone bruise on his thigh. The key contributor did not practice on Monday but he should return for Tuesday’s practice.

Freeman on Pyne injury

It was a scary moment in the second quarter Saturday as Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne took a big hit from a UNLV defender and left the game. Pyne returned, though, and Marcus Freeman shared what went into that decision after the game.

“[Pyne] tried to stay in the game,” Freeman said. “The doctors pulled him out to make sure they evaluate him and then after that series, a couple plays, said he was ready to go. He wanted to keep going, but the doctors said, ‘You’re out.’ They did the evaluation and they gave him the thumbs-up to go back in the game.”

Pyne took the ball 21 yards to the one-yard line, where he was met by a defender and appeared to take a hit to the head. He departed for the next play — a Mitchell Evans touchdown run — and true freshman Steve Angeli came in at quarterback to start the next drive. However, Pyne returned after a few plays once he got the all-clear.

Freeman said he spoke with the officials about a potential targeting call, and they sent it to review before upholding the no-call.

“I thought, from my viewpoint just looking at the replay, it looked like close to helmet-to-helmet,” Freeman said. “They said they reviewed it and contacted Greensboro, the headquarters, and they said it wasn’t helmet-to-helmet.”

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.