Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman updates injury status of two starters following CMU win
On Saturday, No. 9 Fighting Irish defeated Central Michigan, 41-17, at Notre Dame Stadium. And they did so without an injured starter on each side of the ball.
The Notre Dame public relations team announced pregame that junior tight end Mitchell Evans would be unavailable ahead of Week 3. He was not suited up. Graduate safety DJ Brown was in uniform. However, Blue & Gold did not observe Brown as a participant.
Freeman said Evans was out with a concussion, and a hamstring injury hindered Brown.
“Mitch (Evans) ended up having a concussion,” Freeman told reporters afterward. “He was in concussion protocol. DJ (Brown) had a tight hamstring two days ago. We didn’t think he would be 100%, so we decided to hold him (out).”
Freeman ruled out linebacker JD Bertrand with a concussion earlier in the week. Defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio (knee) and tight end Eli Raridon (ACL recovery) remain out. All three players’ status is uncertain going into Week 4.
The 6-foot-1, 1/4, 202-pound Brown played 61 of 82 snaps against NC State last Saturday, the third most of any Notre Dame defender. He has nine tackles (seven solo) and an interception through three games.
Brown battled a hamstring injury last season, which caused him to play a season-low 21 snaps against North Carolina on Sept. 24, 2022. However, he did not miss any games.
Without Brown, Rhode Island graduate transfer safety Antonio Carter pitched in with more of a presence. The 5/11 3/4, 207-pound Carter had an Irish career-best three tackles against Central Michigan. Fellow safeties Xavier Watts (5 tackles), Thomas Harper (4 tackles) and Ramon Henderson (2 tackles) also contributed.
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The 6-5 1/8, 251-pound Evans played all but four snaps (59 of 63) in Notre Dame’s 45-24 win against the Wolfpack. Evans had a 2-yard catch and a 2-yard rushing attempt to bring his total to five catches for 63 yards.
Notre Dame relied on junior tight end Davis Sherwood to play an increased role in Evans’ absence against Central Michigan.
Evans missed the start of the 2022 season with a broken foot that required surgery. He appeared for the first time last season against Stanford on Oct. 15.
Notre Dame (4-0) takes on No. 6 Ohio State (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. EDT at Notre Dame Stadium next Saturday. The Buckeyes are currently facing Western Kentucky. The Buckeyes beat Indiana and Youngstown State in the first two weeks.
