Brian Kelly updates Notre Dame injuries, reveals player lost for the season

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly addressed the media Monday afternoon, just one day after the Fighting Irish squeaked past Florida State in a 41-38 overtime victory. Kelly gave critical injury updates — particularly, the news that linebacker Paul Moala tore his Achilles and will miss the remainder of the 2020 season, while tight end Kevin Bauman has a fracture in his leg.

“Paul Moala tore his other Achilles tendon,” Kelly said. “Devastating. It was an emotional locker room last night. I kind of didn’t tip that off to you guys because it was still pretty raw. But yeah, we’re all very disappointed for Paul. He worked so hard to get back to getting on the field. But we love Paul and he’s gonna be missed. He’s a guy that we were counting on and he’s gonna be sorely missed.”

The 5-foot-11, 222-pound senior has been a steady contributor to the Notre Dame defense since his sophomore year in 2019, when he played 12 games and logged 14 tackles. However, the news of his torn achilles is particularly pressing for Kelly an his staff, as Moala is coming off a season during which he tore his other achilles in 2020. Last season, he posted seven tackles — five solo stops — and a team-high five tackles in the season opener, playing just around two and a half games before rupturing his achilles and missing the rest of the season.

Had Moala stayed healthy, he certainly projected as a starter — or close to it — for the Fighting Irish. He would have seen the bulk of his contributions at rover.

Additionally, Kelly established that Bauman has a non weight-bearing fracture in his leg, while linebacker Shayne Simon and offensive lineman Blake Fisher have MRIs scheduled for Monday afternoon.

“Bauman has a non weight bearing fracture,” Kelly said, adding, “he’ll get surgery. He’ll have a plate inserted and if all things go well there, that is six weeks.”

Bauman, formerly a four-star tight end out of Red Bank, New Jersey, entered his sophomore year with heightened expectations. He didn’t contribute all that much as a true freshman in 2020, logging just one catch for five yards, but his role was slated to grow in 2021.

“We’ve got two MRI scheduled at 2:30,” Kelly said, noting the final two injuries after week one. “For Shayne Simon and for Blake Fisher. Both of them are at 2:30. We think very similar to what I kind of alluded to last night, but we want to obviously make certain relative to the injuries there.”

Simon, a senior, has 24 tackles through three seasons, and shared a role at linebacker with JD Bertrand. Fisher, on the other hand, was the Fighting Irish’s starting left tackle.