Notre Dame will be without team captain and starting defensive tackle Rylie Mills for the remainder of the College Football Playoff. Coach Marcus Freeman provided the update Monday on Mills, who injured his right knee in the third quarter of a 27-17, first-round win over Indiana.
“You can’t replace Riley Mills,” Freeman said. “Yes the production, but the leadership, captain … you feel awful for him as a person, a guy that decided to come back and improve his draft stock.
“The value he provided this team is tremendous. You have to replace the production and what he did for our defense in different ways.”
The Irish play Georgia on New Year’s Day in the Sugar Bowl CFP quarterfinal in New Orleans.
Mills led the Notre Dame defense with eight sacks this season, along with a team-leading 34 QB pressures and 21 QB hurries.
“We have capable guys that will step up, that have stepped up all year,” Freeman said, “and those guys will have a bigger role.”
Freshman defensive lineman Bryce Young received medical attention during the win over Indiana, but Freeman indicated he will be available to play against the Bulldogs. Freeman added graduate-student offensive lineman Rocco Spindler to the list of players who will be “questionable” for the Sugar Bowl game.
Spindler started his ninth game of the same against Indiana at right guard but left in the first half with an apparent ankle injury and didn’t play in the second half.
Receiver KK Smith (clavicle) and linebackers Bodie Kahoun (leg) and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (knee) are also questionable, with injuries suffered before the postseason.
Freeman said he’s confident his team will continue to find ways to handle adversity, applying its “Choose Hard” mentality.
“You find out the most about yourself and your team at tough times and at your lowest moments,” said Freeman, whose team overcame a 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois the second week of the season by winning 10-straight games to make the 12-team playoff field.
“They are resilient, they are tough, they continue to battle, and they choose to find ways to elevate.”
