SOUTH BEND —Notre Dame’s beleaguered secondary listed both preseason All-America cornerback Leonard Moore (right ankle) and Alabama grad transfer nickelback DeVonta Smith (ankle) as game-time decisions.
Moore came out for pregame warmups in sweatpants before Saturday’s game against Purdue and appeared set to see his 12-game streak of starts end. Smith was in uniform but appeared to sit out the usual battery of pregame warmups with his position group.
Moore missed just three snaps against the Aggies after getting tangled up with linebacker Drayk Bowen early in the second quarter. Smith gave way to sophomore Karson Hobbs after suffering a setback during pregame warmups.
Freshman Dallas Golden has taken practice reps at nickelback, Irish coach Marcus Freeman said. Golden could be in the mix should Smith remain out.
Freshman cornerback Mark Zackery IV (Ben Davis High) saw four snaps of defensive duty last week and would be in line to replace Moore.
Tae Johnson, a redshirt freshman safety from Fort Wayne, was in line to make his first career start for Notre Dame football with Adon Shuler sitting out the first half of Saturday’s game against Purdue.
Shuler, a third-year team captain, was ejected for targeting early in the fourth quarter against Texas A&M.
Johnson, a North Side High School product, scored his first career touchdown on a 20-yard blocked punt return against Texas A&M. Johnson also aw his defensive snap count jump from nine against Miami to 56 in the 41-40 loss to the Aggies.
“I thought Tae Tae did a good job being out there,” Freeman said on Monday. “He made some plays, some really good open-field tackles, made some plays on the ball. He’s a talented individual. He was going to get more (snaps), no matter what, but especially with Adon being down a half, he’s going to have more on his plate and he’ll do just fine with it.”
Notre Dame kicker Noah Burnette (hip) remains sidelined after landing on Monday’s injury report. Freshman Erik Schmidt took first-team kicking reps in pregame warmups while Burnette observed in sweatpants.
Senior Tyler Buchner remains the first-string holder after last week’s costly botched point-after on the final Irish touchdown.
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: Pregame injury update for Notre Dame football vs. Purdue
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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