Notre Dame football hasn’t had the best injury luck with its safeties this fall, as Brauntae Johnson has been lost for a few weeks, and not his replacement looks like he won’t be able to suit up against Purdue.
Luke Talich filled in for Johnson, and has a monster game against Michigan State, but hurt his wrist in the process. On Monday when head coach Marcus Freeman met with the media he stated that he wasn’t sure if Talich would be able to play this weekend while wearing a cast.
While we don’t have a definitive answer to his injury status, it very much looks like former 5-star Joey O’Brien will make his first start for the Irish on Saturday according to a social media post by Jack Soble. He noted that special teams coach Marty Biagi didn’t seem
to confident in Talich playing, saying “he’s the first person out there today with a cast on, and coaching up Joey (O’Brien) and Ethan (Long).”
It’s not the idea situation for O’Brien to receive his first start, but the coaches did say before the season started that he would have a role in the defense. He didn’t register a tackle in the season opener against Wisconsin, then had three over the next two games.
It’s a similar situation to another former star safety, as Kyle Hamilton had a role before being inserted into the starting lineup. Hopefully, O’Brien’s career has a similar rise to stardom.
For what it’s worth, Marty Biagi made it sound like Luke Talich (questionable, wrist) is unlikely to play this week against Purdue.
— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) September 22, 2026
“He’s the first person out there today with a cast on, and coaching up Joey (O’Brien) and Ethan (Long) to get ‘em ready.”
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame likely to start former 5-star freshman against Purdue
