Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 14, 2024 11 UNDER THE DOME Key Starter To Miss Time After Sustaining Week 1 Injury On Sept. 2, the Notre Dame football communications team released its first detailed injury report of the 2024 season ahead of the Week 2 matchup against Northern Illinois. The most notable update was that it listed sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faison (ankle) as out for the Northern Illinois game. Faison injured his right ankle in the second quarter of the Texas A&M game and did not return. However, he told coach Marcus Freeman it would not sideline him for long. "[Faison] said, 'Coach, I'm good. I'm done for this game, but I'm good,'" Freeman told reporters in his postgame press conference in College Station. "So, I have confi- dence he'll be back. I don't know what the timetable is." Freeman added two days later: "We expect him to be out one to two weeks with an ankle sprain." Faison came up limping after Aggies defensive back Jayvon Thomas brought him down fol- lowing a 6-yard gain. It appeared that he could not put full weight on his right leg. When the Irish took the field for the second half, Faison was not wearing his hel- met or shoulder pads. The 5-foot-10, 184-pound pass catcher also left his green cleats in the locker room and sported navy blue sneakers instead. He appeared to have his right foot wrapped. Besides Faison, there were no other players whose injury status was affected against the Aggies. Florida International transfer Kris Mitchell is listed atop the Notre Dame depth chart at field receiver now with sophomore KK Smith sliding into the No. 2 spot on the two-deep. Mitchell had 1 catch for 12 yards against Texas A&M while Smith did not play. Here is a detailed look at the Notre Dame football injury report for Week 2 against Northern Illinois: • Senior walk-on cornerback Marty Auer (knee) is out for the season. He tore his left ACL during preseason practice Aug. 2. • Walk-on graduate student defensive lineman Quentin Autry (shoulder) is out for the season. There are no details on when the injury occurred. • Freshman safety Taebron Bennie-Powell (shoulder) is out for the season. He underwent surgery on his left shoulder labrum after a high school injury hindered him during preseason camp. • Sophomore offensive lineman Charles Jagusah (shoulder) is out for the season. He tore his right pectoralis muscle during preseason camp practice Aug. 3. • Sophomore walk-on cornerback Charles Du (shoulder) is out for the season. There are no details on when the injury occurred. • Sophomore linebacker Kahanu Kia (knee) is out for the season. He tore his ACL during preseason camp. • Freshman safety Tae Johnson (foot) is out indefinitely. He sustained a foot injury in his left fifth metatarsal toward the end of preseason camp, which required surgery. • Junior running back Gi'Bran Payne (knee) is potentially out for the season. He tore his ACL in his right knee during the Blue-Gold Game April 20. • Freshman offensive lineman Styles Prescod (shoulder) is out for the season. A high school shoulder injury persisted during preseason camp, which resulted in the decision to have surgery. • Senior defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio (foot) is out indefinitely. He fractured his second metatarsal during the first preseason camp practice on July 31, which required surgery. Last Thursday, Freeman said Rubio was about a month out from returning. • Senior cornerback Chance Tucker (knee) is out for the season. He tore his ACL during the team's "jersey scrimmage" Aug. 17. — Kyle Kelly IRISH LOSE TWO FRESHMEN FOR THE SEASON TO INJURY The Notre Dame football communica- tions team announced Aug. 29 that safety Taebron Bennie-Powell and offensive tackle Styles Prescod would be out for the season due to previous high school injuries that have re-emerged and require surgery. Bennie-Powell has already undergone surgery on his left shoulder labrum, per- formed by Dr. Brian Ratigan. Prescod will have surgery on his right shoulder in the coming weeks. During Marcus Freeman's meeting with reporters Aug. 29, the third-year Notre Dame coach explained that these injuries weren't necessarily major ones that hap- pened in practice, but rather reoccurring ailments that needed to be addressed. "Probably both of those guys, and you see it with a lot of freshmen, they have preexisting injuries that probably started in high school," he said. "And, you know, when all of a sudden you get them here, and their shoulder pops out, or they have shoulder issues, you take an MRI and say, 'OK, we have to make the decision. "Do we fix it now and have them miss the season, but have them back for spring ball — which is so crucial for their development — or do we wait until after the season?'" Freeman also said part of the reason they chose to have the surgeries now instead of in the offseason was because Bennie-Pow- ell and Prescod were already projected to redshirt. The Notre Dame communications staff did not include either player on the two-deep depth chart. "Both of those guys, I don't know what the future would have been if they didn't get surgery," Freeman said. "But at the moment, they were probably redshirt po- tential guys. We thought it was best to get their shoulders fixed now and have them back for spring ball." — Kyle Kelly Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faison suffered an ankle injury during the Irish's 23-13 win at Texas A&M Aug. 31. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Freshman offensive linemen Styles Prescod is one of several Irish players dealing with a significant injury. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER