Notre Dame football injury update: Key defensive player OUT for Navy

No. 10 Notre Dame was already dealing with injuries at defensive tackle, losing redshirt senior starter and stalwart run defender Gabriel Rubio for multiple weeks. On Thursday, the position group was dealt another blow.

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Hinish is out for Week 11 vs. Navy with a concussion, the Irish announced Thursday afternoon. Hinish was not on the Monday injury report, meaning he must have suffered the injury in practice.

In other news, redshirt freshman offensive tackle Styles Prescod (left shoulder) is off the injury report, meaning he will play on Saturday. Prescod is Notre Dame’s swing tackle, meaning he’s next in line if either redshirt junior right tackle Aamil Wagner or sophomore left tackle Anthonie Knapp go down. The Irish have also kicked redshirt freshman right guard Guerby Lambert out to tackle, but with the attrition on the interior, they might be more inclined to use Prescod if a situation were to occur against Navy.

Junior tight end Cooper Flanagan (Achilles), junior cornerback Christian Gray (hip), redshirt freshman wide receiver Micah Gilbert (hand) and junior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (hamstring) all remain questionable for Week 11.

Hinish started Week 1 but has since found a home as Notre Dame’s situational pass-rushing defensive end. He has 10 tackles and 0.5 sacks this season, but he leads all Irish defensive tackles in quarterback pressures.

A team captain, Hinish’s presence will be missed in the middle of Notre Dame’s defense on Saturday.

“He is a consistent person,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. “And high achievers are consistent, right? He consistently chooses hard.

“When you do that enough in practice, then all of a sudden, it happens in a game. It becomes who you are. He’s a tough, tough guy, battling through injuries and continually putting team first. Every week, his role might change a little bit but he puts team first while battling through tough injuries. I’m glad we have him.”

With Hinish and Rubio out, sixth-year senior Jared Dawson, redshirt senior Jason Onye and junior Elijah Hughes will likely handle the bulk of the snaps at defensive tackle. Hinish’s injury in particular may open up an opportunity for redshirt freshman Cole Mullins, who has taken those situational pass-rush snaps when Hinish has been banged up in the past.

Notre Dame (6-2) hosts Navy (7-1) at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in South Bend. The game will be televised on NBC.