Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman loses a key player for the Sugar Bowl due to a season-ending injury

On January 1st, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play what is, so far, the most important game of the season. They will face the tough Georgia Bulldogs, with the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans as the venue. For this crucial Sugar Bowl matchup, unfortunately, Marcus Freeman knows he will be without a key player in his defense.

Defensive tackle Rylie Mills suffered a serious knee injury and will be out for the remainder of the season for Freeman’s team. While the exact nature of the injury was not specified, the coach made it clear that it occurred during the game in which his team faced Indiana last week.

As reported by Pete Sampson of The Athletic through his X (formerly Twitter) account @PeteSampson_, it was Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman himself who revealed the bad news for his team, which will face a significant loss for the upcoming game against the Bulldogs.

“Marcus Freeman announces defensive tackle Rylie Mills (knee) will be lost for the remainder of the postseason. Obviously, a significant loss for the Irish defense for the Sugar Bowl,” Sampson stated.

Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills (99) during NCAA, College League, USA football game action between the Central Michigan Chippewas and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

Rylie Mills was the leader of Notre Dame’s defense recording 7.5 sacks. The defensive captain started every game until his injury and led the defensive line with 37 tackles. In the CFP Sugar Bowl, Notre Dame is expected to start redshirt sophomore Donovan Hinish in his place.

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Freeman expresses his excitement about the current state of his team

Notre Dame was one of the pleasant surprises of this NCAAF season, and their coach knows they’ve earned the right to be at this point. However, they understand they haven’t achieved everything yet and will give every ounce of effort to go as far as possible.

“You know, we wouldn’t be in this situation if we didn’t have 12 wins,” the HC stated, according to Dan Morrison of On3.com. “So, I’m grateful to be a part of a program and a team that has been able to accomplish this. But you know I’m greedy, and my focus is — although I don’t want their focus to be on it, my focus is going to be on finding a way to get 13. that’s what matters. That’s what’s going to be important is to enjoy this thing but get ready for the next opportunity.”

Additionally, the coach made it clear in a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show what makes his team ‘special’: “You learn the most about an individual or about a relationship in the lowest moments,” Freeman started.

“And that’s what I learned what this program was all about, what this year’s team was all about after that loss it was a team that continued to come together, continue to put in the work necessary, to continue to improve. And what you’ve seen now is a group that has constantly improved and that’s playing at as close to its full potential as we can. There’s still more, there’s a little bit more that we got to continue to find ways to reach that level where we’re playing our full potential. But this team is special, and they continue to put the work in that it takes to have success.”