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Notre Dame safety Brauntae Johnson injured his left foot and defensive tackle Jason Onye his left ankle against Wisconsin, with Marcus Freeman ruling both out for Rice and describing an absence of a couple of weeks without giving either a firm return date.
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Notre Dame's Rice depth chart elevates Luke Talich to starting safety with freshman Joey O'Brien backing him up, while Freeman said O'Brien and Ethan Long must earn greater practice trust as their roles expand following Johnson's injury.
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Notre Dame expects more interior defensive-line work for Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu without Onye after Gray made five tackles in 18 snaps and Brewu recorded a sack and three pressures in 28 snaps against Wisconsin, with Armel Mukam retaining a starting role.
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Notre Dame linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa missed Wisconsin while building back from last November's ACL tear, and Freeman expected a limited Rice appearance as practice volume increased but said the workload remained undecided.
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Notre Dame intentionally split right-guard work between Styles Prescod and Sullivan Absher at roughly 30 snaps each, and although rushing improved from 29 first-half yards to 82 after halftime, Freeman endorsed the ongoing rotation rather than naming a permanent winner or confirming an Absher injury.