Notre Dame linebacker, team captain JD Bertrand OUT vs. Central Michigan
One of Notre Dame’s four team captains will not suit up against Central Michigan on Saturday. Starting middle linebacker JD Bertrand has been ruled out with a concussion, head coach Marcus Freeman said Thursday.
Bertrand exited Notre Dame’s Week 2 game at NC State early with a head injury. He was placed into concussion protocol right away. Monday, Freeman said Bertrand would be a non-contact practice participant. Freeman said then Bertrand was doing much better than he was in Raleigh, but obviously he has not rebounded enough to play in two days.
With No. 6 Ohio State coming to town Sept. 23, it’s best for Bertrand to keep resting and shoot for a full recovery in advance of a potential top-10 matchup in Week 4. Freeman mentioned freshmen linebackers Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry as players who need to step up without Bertrand in the lineup. Bowen missed Week 1 vs. Tennessee State with an injury of his own. Fellow graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser will also certainly see an increase in usage.
Bertrand ranks fourth on the Notre Dame roster with 13 total tackles in 2023. He led the Irish in total tackles in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He started all 13 games in 2021 and 12 of 13 in 2022. Over the course of his five-year career, Bertrand has played in 43 games for Notre Dame with 25 starts.
“You look at JD Bertrand, and when he’s out, yes, you lose a lot of production,” Freeman said. “He’s a really good football player. But you lose a captain. You lose the leadership, the verbal communication of a guy who has played a lot of snaps. That’s, to me, where I have challenged that room. Jack Kiser has played a lot of ball, but you have to be so vocal to get guys lined up.”
Luckily for Notre Dame, the task at hand shouldn’t be all too difficult. The Irish are facing a Central Michigan team that only scored seven points against Michigan State in Week 1. Yes, the Chippewas scored 45 against New Hampshire last week, but that was against an FCS foe. This is Notre Dame, the No. 9 team in the country.
Notre Dame is a 34.5-point favorite over head coach Jim McElwain’s Central Michigan Chips according to BetMGM. The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday and will be streaming exclusively on Peacock.
