LOUISVILLE, Ky. —Notre Dame football will be without a pair of defenders Saturday night at Louisville.
The No. 10 Irish (5-1) announced prior to kickoff (7:30 p.m. EDT on ABC) that starting nickelback Thomas Harper and second-string defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio will not be available against No. 25 Louisville (5-0).
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Harper, a graduate senior, entered the week ranked sixth on Notre Dame’s defense in tackles with 25. He added one sack, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups and one forced fumble in six games.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Harper played 52 snaps in last week’s 21-14 win at Duke, but he was not on the field for Duke’s final two drives after being in coverage when Duke scored a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. Senior Clarence Lewis replaced Harper at nickelback for those drives.
The 6-0, 202-pound Lewis returned an interception for a touchdown late in Notre Dame’s blowout win over Tennessee State. He also contributed two tackles in the first six games. Lewis, who started 21 games his first three season at Notre Dame, has played 93 defensive snaps for the Irish in 2023.
Rubio, a junior, totaled four tackles in three games. He missed three games for an arthroscopic knee surgery following the season opener against Navy. The 6-5, 306-pound Rubio played 28 defensive snaps in his first two games back from injury.
Junior Jason Onye (6-5, 294) and sophomore Donovan Hinish (6-2, 280) will likely be asked to play more in Rubio’s absence behind starting nose tackle Howard Cross III and defensive tackle Rylie Mills.
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