Notre Dame LB Joe Schmidt Out For Season

An ankle injury against Navy on Saturday night does in Notre Dame’s leading tackler for the season

The college football season has been an exciting one so far, including for number 10 Notre Dame. They defeated Navy on Saturday night 49-39 but it came at a cost. They lost linebacker Joe Schmidt for the season.

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Schmidt, who leads the Fighting Irish in tackles with 65 tackles, also had two interceptions and two forced fumbles this season before leaving Saturday night’s game in the third quarter. The senior has started all eight of the Fighting Irish’s games this season. IrishIllustrated.com caught up with Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly after the game.

“I think everybody is gonna have to pick up the slack for the loss of a guy that did most of the work,” he said.

The loss of Schmidt is tough for the team, especially now as the Fighting Irish are still in contention for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Schmidt was seen as a leader on a defense that is young.

This Irish team has overcome suspensions and other injuries so now they will be asked to overcome yet one more adversity. This week doesn’t get any easier for them. They head to Tempe, Arizona to play the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday afternoon in a nationally televised game on ABC.

Now it is up to true freshman Nyles Morgan to play in place of Schmidt. That is a tough role for the youngster but one where the Irish have little choice but to put him in.

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