Kedren Young, Kevin Bauman injury updates: Notre Dame announces both will miss 2025 season

Notre Dame running back Kedren Young and tight end Kevin Bauman will both miss the season due to injuries, the program announced. Young suffered a torn ACL in his right knee while Bauman is dealing with an articular cartilage injury in his left knee.

Young was preparing for his second season at Notre Dame after arriving in South Bend last year. He appeared in seven games as a freshman, totaling 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Bauman’s injury is also his latest season-ending issue during his time at Notre Dame. He previously missed part of 2022 and all of 2023 due to ACL injuries. Last year, though, he appeared in 14 games as a key contributor on special teams.

The expectation was Kedren Young would play a key reserve role in the Notre Dame running backs room, led by Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. He arrived on campus as a four-star prospect and the No. 120 overall player from the 2024 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.

Love and Price are front and center for the Fighting Irish as they look to build on last year’s run to the national championship. Notre Dame used a high-powered rushing attack to reach the title game, and Love led the way. He had a team-high 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Price, meanwhile, proved to be a strong No. 2 running back as he totaled 746 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Both he and Love are back in 2025, and Marcus Freeman said the staff is building a plan for both backs. In fact, he didn’t entirely rule out playing both of them at the same time.

“They’ve all been working individually on how to improve as an individual – whether that’s in pass protection, whether that’s ball security, whether that’s as a receiver,” Freeman said last month on ESPN’s Vibe Check. “We’ve got to find different ways to have each of them improve. It’s going to be a running back by committee. We have to utilize every person in that room, and that might mean having more than one running back on the field at one time.

“We’ll figure out what we’re going to do, tactically, as we prepare for our upcoming opponents. But it’s a great room that is looking to elevate as we’re getting ready for fall camp.”

Notre Dame is preparing to open the season in a big way. The Fighting Irish will take on Miami at Hard Rock Stadium Aug. 30.