SOUTH BEND—For the second straight summer, Notre Dame football has lost a projected starter in the trenches to pectoral surgery.
Defensive end Jordan Botelho, who missed the final 13 games last season with a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, recently underwent pectoral surgery, a source confirmed Friday afternoon.
According to Irish Sports Daily, Botelho suffered the injury while training on his own. The sixth-year edge rusher from Honolulu is expected to miss about four months.
That timeline would place Botelho’s potential return somewhere in early to mid-October. Notre Dame will have played seven games by the time it reaches its second off weekend of the regular season: Oct. 25 after facing USC at home the prior week.
Charles Jagusah, the expected starter at left tackle in 2024, underwent pectoral surgery in early August after suffering a training camp injury. He returned to practice by late November but didn’t appear in a game until taking special teams snaps in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia on Jan. 2.
In Botelho’s absence, third-year defensive end Boubacar Traore figures to take up the slack along with fourth-year ends Josh Burnham and Junior Tuihalamaka.
Traore suffered a torn ACL in late September against Louisville last season and missed the rest of the year.
Under new defensive coordinator Chris Ash, Notre Dame has moved away from the “Vyper” role that Botelho previously filled. Defensive ends will essentially be interchangeable from right to left this fall, Irish coach Marcus Freeman said recently.
At 6-foot-3 and 261 pounds, Botelho has played 794 career defensive snaps in five seasons. More than half of those came in 2023, when he played 428 defensive snaps and started 12 of 13 games.
Botelho started the first three games of the 2024 season before suffering his injury in the first half against Purdue on Sept. 14.
His 17 career starts lead all returnees on the Irish defense, including transfer additions. Botelho has 77 career tackles (73 for loss) and 11.5 sacks.
He also has been a key contributor on special teams.
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 loses end Jordan Botelho to pectoral surgery, source confirms
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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