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Notre Dame defensive star Rylie Mills out for remaining postseason, says coach Marcus Freeman

Mills, a senior captain, led the Irish in sacks before getting hurt in the College Football Playoff first-round win over Indiana

ian casselberry
Contributing writer
·2 min read

Notre Dame senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills will miss the remainder of the postseason with a right knee injury suffered in Friday's College Football Playoff victory over Indiana. The No. 5 seeded Irish will next face No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.

Head coach Marcus Freeman announced Mills' status during his news conference on Monday, lamenting the loss of an impact player and team captain.

"You can't replace Rylie Mills. Yes, the production. But the leadership, a captain," Freeman said. "You feel awful for him as a person. A guy who decided to come back, improve his draft stock, be a captain. The value he provided this team is tremendous. He's done an excellent job as a football player and a leader."

Mills was injured while sacking Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke in the third quarter. He was replaced by junior Gabriel Rubio.

Following the game, Freeman was told there was optimism the injury wasn't season-ending with 10 days to recover before the Jan. 1 matchup with Georgia. That obviously changed after further examination.

In 13 games this season, Mills compiled 37 combined tackles (19 solo) and led the Irish with 7.5 sacks.

Mills' injury is the latest for a defensive line that lost defensive ends Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore earlier this season. Botelho suffered a knee injury in the third game of the year versus Purdue, while Traore was hurt two weeks later against Louisville. Additionally, the Irish lost starting cornerback and captain Benjamin Morrison the following week with a hip injury versus Stanford.

Despite the injuries, Notre Dame finished sixth in the nation in total defense and tied for fifth in scoring defense (allowing 17 points per game) and rushing defense.

Freeman also announced that offensive lineman Rocco Spindler and linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa are questionable for the Georgia game, while offensive tackle Charles Jagusah is expected to be available.