Reports: Notre Dame LB Marist Liufau Suffers Significant Injury
Notre Dame could be without linebacker who was primed for a breakout season for extended period of time
Notre Dame has reportedly suffered their first significant injury for the 2021 football season yesterday when Marist Liufau went down with a significant lower-body injury according to multiple reports and first reported by Matt Freeman of Irish Sports Daily.
No timeframe for the injury has been reported at this time and Notre Dame has not confirmed the injury yet, but early reports have suggested this could cost the junior linebacker the entire season. Brian Kelly is not scheduled to meet with the media again until Monday so we likely won’t have confirmation from Notre Dame until then unless they release something between now and then.
There is no way to sugarcoat this, this is a big blow for the Notre Dame defense and their hopes in 2021. By all accounts, Liufau was expected to take a massive leap this year from part-time role player to front-line, headliner in Marcus Freeman’s defense. A few weeks ago, Matt Freeman reported to us on the UHND podcast that Liufau was lining up all over the field after the first open practice.
With Liufau out for the foreseeable future, fellow junior JD Bertrand, one of the fastest risers on the roster in fall camp, is expected to step in and fill a large role in the Notre Dame defensive front seven. Senior Shayne Simon also figures to be heavily in the mix.
Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman have both spoke at length about the depth Notre Dame has at linebacker for 2021 so the Irish have the depth to overcome a significant injury to Liufau, but what they don’t have, at present anyway, is someone who is likely to be the same level of playmaker that Liufau was expected to be.
Freshman linebacker Prince Kollie could figure into the mix more now as well if Jack Kiser, the likely starter at ROVER, fills some double-duty by being part of the replacement plan for Liufau at WILL. Kollie reportedly looked very much like a freshman over the first few days of camp, but adjusted relatively quickly and is on the rise.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Give it time. I think you’re all going to be raving about number 27 before long.
In fact Trevor Lawrence is still nursing bruises that he got from J D in the two times JD’s High School team kicked the living crap out of Cartersville.
“I nailed Trevor Lawrence in high school!”
— Uncle Rico
“…..so the Irish have the depth to overcome a significant injury to Liufau, but what they don’t have, at present anyway, is someone who is likely to be the same level of playmaker that Liufau was expected to be….”
Gibberish. If you don’t have a very capable replacement, you do NOT have depth.
Try “next man in”….that’s ben turned into a meaningless term of bravado, but at least it’s accurate.
Not so fast!
We’ll find out if the Irish don’t have the “same level of playmaker that Liufau was expected to be”. I can readily think of three players considered back-ups who probably should not have been back-ups (see: Kyren Williams as a Frosh RB, WRs Boykin until very late, same w/McKinney et.al ), this could turn out to be the best scenario for one of the LBs supposedly not-as-ready as Liufau was- but this truly does suck for the young man injured.
Best wishes on a full speedy recovery.
Unfortunately, this won’t be the last critical injury.
How deep is this team’s quality depth? Stay tuned!
They’ll have to prove their depth more than with Liufau’s loss this season.
Then you have a b one to pick with the article’s author…..not me.