Joey O’Brien’s first start for Notre Dame may have doubled as a preview of what’s next on the depth chart.
With Luke Talich set to return and Brauntae Johnson still sidelined, the Fighting Irish appear ready to slide the true freshman safety back into a reserve role when they meet North Carolina on Saturday. Marcus Freeman seemed to make that clear on Monday, and the injury report backs it up: Talich is not listed.
O’Brien earned the start against Purdue because both Johnson and Talich were unavailable. That opened the door for the freshman, and he made the most of it. Against the Boilermakers, he turned in his best outing yet in a Notre Dame uniform, finishing with 5 tackles and his first career sack.
Talich’s return matters because he had been filling in at Field safety for Johnson, who has missed the last three games with a left foot injury. Johnson, along with starting defensive tackle Jason Onye, is out again for North Carolina. Onye is dealing with a left ankle injury, and both players went down in the first half of the Wisconsin game.
Talich himself has been working back from a left wrist injury he suffered on September 19 against Michigan State. Observers had seen him wearing a cast on his left arm and wrist.
For Notre Dame, the real question now is how the defensive backfield settles once everyone is healthy. Aaron Henry and Chris Ash could lean on a faster rotation, or they could use Talich and O’Brien in different packages and matchups as the schedule toughens.
The timing on Johnson remains murky. When he got hurt in Week 1, Freeman said the injury wasn’t that serious and that the safety would be out for “a couple of weeks.” Last Monday, Freeman pushed that timeline back again.
“Tae is right on track,” Freeman told reporters last Monday. “Like, what we thought.
He’s still got another couple weeks to really get back to where he can go full go. And so we’ll just keep trusting the rehab and what he needs to do to get back.”
Notre Dame also listed six other players out against North Carolina: sophomore offensive lineman Matty Augustine (right foot); seniors Charles Jagusah and Chris Terek (right knee); sophomore defensive lineman Christopher Burgess Jr. (left tibia); freshman Tiki Hola (right knee); and freshman cornerback Chaz Smith (right wrist). None of them have played this season.
There’s some understandable unease around Johnson’s recovery, especially after Freeman offered similar updates on wide receiver Quincy Porter before Porter was sent for another surgery this week and ruled out for the rest of the season.
As for Talich, he was trending toward his best season before the Michigan State injury stopped that run. He has 10 tackles, 1 pass breakup, 1 forced fumble, a sack and an interception this year.
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