Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman reveals injury updates on six players ahead of USC game
During his weekly Monday news conference, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman provided injury updates on six players. Most notably, Irish graduate student defensive back Thomas Harper (concussion) and junior defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio will be available on Saturday against Southern California.
In Week 5, Harper started at nickel/slot cornerback and played 52 of 70 snaps in Notre Dame’s 21-14 win against Duke on Sept. 30. He recorded five tackles, including three solo. Pro Football Focus graded him as the team’s best run tackler and run defender in Week 5.
The 5-foot-10 5/8, 195-pound graduate student has 25 tackles (10 solo), 2 tackles for loss and 1 sack in six games. He’s also added a pair of pass breakups and a forced fumble.
Freeman also said junior defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio is expected to play in Week 7.
Rubio previously missed Weeks 1-3 after sustaining a knee injury in Notre Dame’s 42-3 Week 0 victory over Navy. That injury required arthroscopic knee surgery. He last played 16 snaps and had two tackles against the Blue Devils. The 6-5 1/4, 306-pounder has four tackles (two solo) in three games this season.
Freeman did not confirm that a knee injury prevented Rubio from playing last Saturday.
Junior Jason Onye and sophomore Donovan Hinish played five snaps each in place of Rubio. They did not record any official box score statistics.
Other Notre Dame football injury notes
– Freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse returned to the lineup last Saturday after missing Week 5 with a hamstring injury. Greathouse played 17 snaps against Louisville but did not register any official statistics. Freeman said Greathouse practiced last week but not to a “full extent.” Freeman added he “sees Greathouse having an increased role as long he continues to practice the way we need him to practice.”
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– Freeman noted that junior right tackle Blake Fisher had a hand injury that prevented him from performing on the last series against Louisville. Fisher will play against USC.
– Freeman mentioned junior left guard Pat Coogan had a minor knee injury that limited his practice reps last week. Coogan started and played 63 of 68 snaps in the Louisville game.
– Freeman said junior wide receiver Deion Colzie, who had arthroscopic knee surgery at the end of September, could be available to return after the bye week.
No. 21 Notre Dame’s (5-2) Week 7 matchup against No. 10 USC (6-0) kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EDT on NBC. It marks the fourth consecutive matchup against a ranked opponent for the Irish, all in primetime. The Irish have beat the Trojans the last five times they’ve played in Notre Dame Stadium.
