SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football still lists All-America cornerback Leonard Moore as questionable for this week’s trip to BYU, but the Irish could regain the services of a starting defensive tackle for the first time since the season-opening win over Wisconsin.
While Moore missed the Stanford game with a concussion suffered in the final three minutes of the Oct. 3 win at North Carolina, he was spotted smiling and chatting with Irish quarterback CJ Carr on the sideline in the latter stages of the 58-7 win over the Cardinal.
Sixth-year defensive tackle Jason Onye, meanwhile, was upgraded to questionable after missing the past 5 1/2 games with a left ankle injury. His return would bolster a deep group that saw Pittsburgh transfer Francis Brewu visit the medical tent in the second quarter against Stanford.
Brewu later returned briefly to action after the undisclosed injury, but he played a season-low 12 defensive snaps.
Third-year linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, meanwhile, was removed from the injury report entirely after missing the Stanford game with a left wrist injury suffered at North Carolina. The All-America candidate wore a soft cast that stretched to his forearm, but it appears he’ll be back in the rotation against the eighth-ranked Cougars on Saturday night Oct. 17 in Provo, Utah.
The news is less encouraging for third-year safety Brauntae Johnson. Knocked out of the Wisconsin game with a left foot injury that required surgery, the Fort Wayne product was spotted before the Stanford game wearing a light brace on his left foot.
Freeman said it would be “November-ish when he’s ready to come back.”
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That’s because despite the similarity in the setbacks and timeline for Onye and Johnson, there were “two different recovery timelines” because of Johnson’s previous injury to the same foot.
As a freshman in 2024, Johnson underwent surgery on the fifth metatarsal in his left foot in mid-August but was able to return in time for the Florida State game on Nov. 9. Johnson wound up taking a redshirt season and still has two remaining years of eligibility after this one.
Luke Talich and Joey O’Brien (Purdue start) have held things down at safety opposite captain Adon Shuler since Johnson went out.
“It is exactly as we thought once we did the scan and did his surgery,” Freeman said of Johnson. “We knew his recovery would be longer than Jason. You’re talking about a foot he previously injured. He’s right on the timeline that we expect.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football upgrades key defensive lineman ahead of BYU game