Notre Dame hasn’t been hit too hard by the injury bug to start the 2026 season.
Yes, there have been some injuries, but some teams have already been decimated by season-ending injuries.
The safety position has taken some hits, and Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman provided an update on where Brauntae Johnson and Luke Talich stand heading into week four.
Johnson left the season opener with a left foot injury and appears to be on schedule to return in the near future.
“It's right on track,” said Freeman. “Like what we thought. He's still got another couple of weeks to really get back to where he can go full go. We'll just keep trusting the rehab and what he needs to do to get back.”
Talich left the field in the final minutes of Notre Dame’s 27-10 win over Michigan State on Saturday night. The Irish staff should know by Monday evening whether he’ll be available for this week’s game.
“With Luke, we'll find out more today,” stated Freeman. “It's a hand injury. We'll probably find out this afternoon how serious it is. Can we just tape it up, cast it up and get him out there? Or are we going to need a week or so? No matter what the MRI says, it's not going to be as long as Tae-Tae. Luke will be either back this week for the game, or he might miss a week or so.”
If Talich can’t go Saturday, it would be a loss for the Irish. He’s coming off a game in which he recorded an interception and a sack, but Notre Dame’s secondary has depth.
Sophomore Ethan Long has game experience, while freshman Joey O’Brien has started to carve out a role in Chris Ash’s defense.
The challenge this week will be facing a veteran quarterback in Ryan Browne, who is off to a strong start in 2026 and is averaging 341.3 passing yards per game.
“He's a competitive football player,” Freeman said. “What you've seen is him kind of honestly learn how to keep it in the kitchen. He is being really patient in the pocket. He's not using his legs as much as we saw on film last year going into our game. He's not taking sacks. He's just making good decisions. I think that's just your natural progression.”
Browne had success against Notre Dame’s defense a year ago despite the Irish winning 56-30. The Michigan native completed 21-of-34 passes for 250 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Freeman believes Notre Dame did some things well against Browne last season, but the Irish won’t simply copy that defensive game plan this time around.
“There's some things that we got exposed last year,” Freeman said. “We got some different personnel out there, but we would be insane to just say we're going to have the same game plan that we did last year and not think they're going to pick it apart.
“They're watching that game, just like we're watching the game that we played against them last year. We got to do what our guys do well, but we also got to be able to mask and disguise what we're doing pre-snap and not just tell that experienced quarterback what defense we're in.”
The other major emphasis will be running back Fame Ijeboi.
The 6-foot, 210-pounder has rushed for 248 yards and six touchdowns while adding eight receptions for 72 yards through the first three games.
“Not only is he running the ball in his physical size, nature and his speed, but he might be more dangerous in the pass game,” stated Freeman. “They do some things with him in the pass game where they try to isolate him on some linebackers that we're going to have to have a great plan for.”
Notre Dame enters Week Four with the nation’s No. 12 rush defense, allowing just 65.5 rushing yards per game. Ash’s unit is also No. 8 nationally in yards per rush at 2.02.
But Freeman knows stopping Ijeboi will require more than simply loading the box.
“We're going to have to have a good plan for him and part of stopping a run is maybe you have one less defender for the pass,” said Freeman. “We’ve got to know that he can really try to hurt us in the run and the pass game.”
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