Marcus Freeman announced yet another season-ending injury on Monday. This time, the player impacted is starting defensive end Boubacar Traore.
Traore is a sophomore who leads Notre Dame in tackles for loss (5) and sacks (3) through Week 6. He suffered the injury in Notre Dame’s win over Louisville on Sept. 28. Freeman said Traore tore his left ACL.
This is just the latest in a long line of season-ending injuries that Notre Dame players have suffered so far since the beginning of fall camp. Other players who are out for the year include Charles Jagusah, Jordan Botelho and Ashton Craig. Traore became a starter for the Irish after Botelho went down earlier this season.
In light of Notre Dame’s injury issues, Freeman spoke about the program’s strength and conditioning program during his weekly press conference on Monday.
“I think you’ve gotta always try to look for cause and effect,” Freeman said. “But you also can’t make something up, right? Our sports performance team is a team that I have so much confidence in … this is just a part of the game and injuries happen. But you always look for ways to prevent injuries.
“There is no perfect formula, but I’ll tell you every day, every week that we meet, we always look for a way to improve.”
With Traore out, Junior Tuihalamaka is expected to replace him as Notre Dame’s starting vyper this week against Stanford.
Kickoff against Stanford is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
