Notre Dame nose guard Aidan Keanaaina tears ACL in practice

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Published Mar 19, 2022

Notre Dame nose guard Aidan Keanaaina tears ACL in practice

Tyler James • InsideNDSports

Publisher

@TJamesND

Aidan Keanaaina recorded his first career tackle in Notre Dame football's most recent game.

Keanaaina capped his sophomore season with one tackle in Notre Dame's 37-35 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.

Any chance for Keanaaina to parlay that production into an increased role as a backup nose guard in Notre Dame's defense was derailed Thursday when he tore his ACL in Thursday's practice, the first of the spring for the Irish.

A source confirmed news of the injury with Inside ND Sports on Saturday. Irish Illustrated first reported Keanaaina's injury.

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The 6-foot-3, 310-pound Keanaaina was expected to compete for a backup role at nose guard in 2022 behind senior Howard Cross III. Now Keanaaina will likely miss most of the season recovering from his ACL injury.

Keanaaina played in three games as a sophomore in 2021 against Navy, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State. He only played in one game as a freshman.

Other than Cross, who played in 11 games as a nose guard last season with 22 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks, the Irish still have senior Jacob Lacey as a nose guard option. Lacey had been spending more time as a defensive tackle than nose guard. He recorded 12 tackles and two tackles for a loss last season.

Sophomore Gabriel Rubio could also add depth at the nose guard position. He made one tackle against Oklahoma State in his lose game appearance of last season. Incoming freshman Donovan Hinish, a three-star recruit, could also become a nose guard like his older brother, Kurt.

Keanaaina, a product of Mullen High in Denver, came to Notre Dame rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 29 defensive tackle in the 2020 class.