Notre Dame football will be without two players for the entirety of the 2023 season: senior tight end Kevin Bauman and sophomore defensive end Aiden Gobaira.
Head coach Marcus Freeman shared the news Saturday during his post-practice press conference.
Bauman partially tore his ACL in the first week of preseason camp and has been spotted at practices with a knee brace on his left knee. Gobaira tore the ACL in his right knee during Tuesday's practice at South Bend's School Field.
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Bauman's 2022 season was cut short in September of last year by a torn ACL in his left knee. The 6-foot-5, 256-pound Bauman also missed nearly two months of the 2021 season with a broken leg.
Bauman, a former four-star recruit out of Red Bank (N.J.) Catholic, was expected to provide depth and play meaningful snaps for Notre Dame in 2023. Bauman's career has been limited to 12 games played through three seasons with five catches for 59 yards. Three of those catches came in the first two games of last season.
Notre Dame's tight end depth chart includes junior Mitchell Evans as the projected starter and sophomore Holden Staes as a capable backup in the rotation. Sophomore Eli Raridon, freshman Cooper Flanagan and junior Davis Sherwood could all play roles this season as well.
The 6-5, 256-pound Gobaira didn't play in a game in his freshman season in 2022. The former four-star recruit from Chantilly (Va.) High was battling for playing time at field end behind graduate seniors Nana Osafo-Mensah and Javontae Jean-Baptiste. Gobaira's absence could elevate sophomore Tyson Ford and/or freshmen Brenan Vernon and Boubacar Traore into some reserve playing time.
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