Notre Dame may have picked up another injury concern just before Saturday afternoon’s game against Rice, and this one involves a young defensive lineman who had not been on the radar earlier in the week.
A Friday night video posted by Adam Kipker showed the Irish heading to their final practice and walkthrough before the game, with several players and head coach Marcus Freeman making the short walk. The clip was mostly routine, but it did reveal a couple of notable details.
Freshman defensive lineman Elijah Golden was not dressed for practice and was wearing a brace on his right ankle. That stood out immediately, especially because there had been little to no chatter this week about Golden being hurt. With Jason Onye definitely out, Golden’s status becomes more important for Week 2 than it otherwise might have been.
Golden did not play in Notre Dame’s season opener, but he is expected to factor into the rotation at some point in 2026. At this stage, there is no reason to think the Irish would hold him back unless the ankle issue is real.
The 6-foot-4, 275-pound lineman from Cardinal Mooney High School in Sarasota, Florida, arrived as a consensus 4-star prospect in the 2026 class. In his senior season, he piled up 76 tackles, including 39 tackles for loss, 17 sacks and two pass breakups in 13 games while helping Cardinal Mooney win a Florida Class 2A state championship. That season also earned him MaxPreps All-American and Navy All-American honors, plus a spot in the Polynesian Bowl.
The same video also showed veteran wide receiver and team captain Jordan Faison with tape on his right wrist and thumb. That looked more like a precaution than a real setback, though, because Faison was also seen handing out autographs with that right hand.
In Other News...
Notre Dame May Have Seized Early Control In A Huge Recruiting Fight
Notre Dames 52-0 win over Rice did more than pad a season opener, it also gave the Irish another chance to make an impression on one of the more important underclassmen in the country. Wyatt VanBoening, a 4-star offensive tackle in the 2028 class, was among the visitors taking in the atmosphere, and it was the latest stop in a recruiting relationship that has already included multiple trips to South Bend. With major programs already involved, Notre Dame has at least put itself squarely in the mix.
For a program always trying to build its future in the trenches, VanBoening is the kind of prospect worth tracking closely. The repeated visits suggest real mutual interest, and performances like the one against Rice can only help the Irish with recruits weighing early impressions as much as long-term fit. No commitment has been made, but Notre Dame appears to have positioned itself well in a fight that could still go a long way. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Finally Looked Like The Team Fans Were Waiting For
Notre Dames home opener against Rice was the kind of performance that had been missing in the early part of the season, a clean, commanding statement in a 52-0 win that never really gave the visitors a chance to breathe. The Irish were sharp from the opening series, with quarterback CJ Carr settling in quickly and the rest of the roster following suit in a game that looked more like the standard Notre Dame had been trying to establish than the stumble fans had been waiting to shake off.
Carrs efficiency set the tone, while safety Adon Shuler and wide receiver Jordan Faison both turned in notable performances in a rout that showed how complete this team can look when it is in sync. The bigger question now is whether this was the one-off release fans needed to see or the first sign that Notre Dame has finally found the version of itself it was supposed to bring into the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Suddenly In The No. 1 Debate After Week 2
Week 2 delivered the kind of shakeup that can redraw the entire AP Top 25, with Texas knocking off No. 1 Ohio State late and leaving the top of the poll suddenly up for grabs. The ripple effects go well beyond Columbus, because the national conversation now has to sort through a crowded group of contenders, with Notre Dame and Georgia both in the mix as the rankings get rebuilt after a chaotic Saturday.
For the Irish, that puts a clean opening-week performance in a much brighter spotlight than it had before. Other contenders are still trying to survive the fallout from losses of their own, including Oregon and Oklahoma, which only adds to the uncertainty at the top. However the voters sort it out, Notre Dame has unexpectedly landed in the middle of the No. 1 debate, and the next set of rankings will say plenty about how much weight the Irishs start carried. [Read more 🡒]