Rylie Mills injury update: Marcus Freeman shares significant news on Notre Dame DL

Notre Dame has received tough news on defensive lineman Rylie Mills after he was injured this past Friday against Indiana. Head coach Marcus Freeman announced that Mills is out for the remainder of the College Football Playoff with a knee injury, according to Jack Soble.

That means the 2024 season is over for Rylie Mills and he will miss the game against Georgia, as well as other games if the Irish advance.

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Rylie Mills is one of the top players on the Notre Dame defense. He has 37 tackles and a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss in 2024. Mills also leads the Irish with 7.5 sacks.

He was injured during the third quarter of Saturday’s win over Indiana when he sacked Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Marcus Freeman said in an interview with Scott Van Pelt after the game that he didn’t believe the injury was season ending. However, it ended up being.

Rylie Mills has started every game for Notre Dame this season. The grad student was a team captain who also had a strong year in 2023, recording 47 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Marcus Freeman reacts to tying Notre Dame single season all-time wins record

While the Rylie Mills injury was disappointing for Notre Dame, overall Friday night couldn’t have gone better for the Irish.

At a program with 11 national championships, it’s hard to have a season that stands out as remarkable. However, that’s exactly what head coach Marcus Freeman was able to do this season at Notre Dame, tying the single-season wins record in program history.

Now sitting at 12-1, the 2024 Notre Dame team is just the fifth team in program history to get to 12 wins in a season. That’s something that Freeman is proud of, even though his focus is still on doing what he can to win a national championship.

“You know, we wouldn’t be in this situation if we didn’t have 12 wins,” Marcus Freeman said. “So, I’m grateful to be a part of a program and a team that has been able to accomplish this. But you know I’m greedy, and my focus is — although I don’t want their focus to be on it, my focus is going to be on finding a way to get 13. That’s what matters. That’s what’s going to be important is to enjoy this thing but get ready for the next opportunity.”