Steve Filer Done For the Season

steve filer full
Steve Filer, a former highly touted recruit, saw his career come to end this week after suffering an ACL injury in practice. (Photo / Icon SMI)

Steve Filer’s Notre Dame career has come to a disappointing end. Brian Kelly confirmed on Thursday that Filer suffered an ACL injury in a non-contact drill that will cause the senior outside linebacker to miss the remainder of the season and thus ending a career that never quite got off the ground.

“Steve got injured yesterday in practice and we’re probably going to lose him for the year,” Brian Kelly said on Thursday.  “It’s tough losing a senior, especially when it’s a non-contact situation when you lose a guy that’s not going to play for Notre Dame anymore,” he would add.

After coming to Notre Dame has a highly touted linebacker out of Chicago, Filer struggled to crack the defensive lineup over the last four years despite flashing raw athleticism that made him a yearly candidate for breakout player of the year lists each summer.  Filer did, however, make his impact on special teams where he led the Irish in special teams tackles each of the last two seasons.

Much like Mike Ragone earlier this season, it’s disappointing to see an athlete like Filer have his career end without ever reaching his full potential at Notre Dame.  Filer had been seeing more playing time on pass rushing downs over the last few weeks, but for the season he had just five tackles and no sacks.  Filer was one of the leaders in the locker room though and his presence will be missed.

To give you an idea of how liked Filer is in the locker room, fellow Chicago native Darius Fleming will be wearing Filer’s #46 this weekend when Notre Dame takes on Maryland in FedEx Field.  Filer and Fleming came to Notre Dame in the same class after playing for rival high schools in Chicago and became good friends over the last four years. The two even had similar numbers with Fleming wear #45 and filer 46 over the course of their careers.

It’s terrible to see a player like Filer have his career end so close to the end of his senior season without having the opportunity to play on senior day next weekend.  At the same time, it’s great to see Fleming honoring his teammate and friend by wearing his number this weekend as it shows the closeness of this team.

Notre Dame will be getting Ethan Johnson back this weekend so they should be able to replace Filer’s absence at defensive end on pass rushing downs by rotating defensive ends a little more and letting Johnson play more of the run downs and letting Aaron Lynch focus more on passing downs.

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6 Comments

  1. When having debates among freinds on why top rated high school players should choose ND, i always bring up the fact that they will be leaving with a degree from Notre Dame. A very small percentage of 5 star recruits actually make into the NFL. Flier is a perfect example. Even though he might not have panned out as a future NFL player, he will be leaving with a highly sought after degree. How many players choose Auburn or LSU even Florida State and dont make it to the Pro’s. Its not a tough choice for an employer to choose between a graduate from Notre Dame and graduates from SEC schools. the decision to attend ND is not only the right decision for four years but the right decision for the rest of your life.

  2. Amen brother. Once again this just points to the importance of college athletes taking advantage of the opportunity to get a good education. Filer will leave ND with a degree in hand and a bright future thanks to his leadership on the football team and work in the classroom.

    The volume of sportswriters talking about the need to pay college players when they essentially are getting $50K of free education each year (if they take advantage) is discouraging. Ask any parent about the value of a full ride scholarship.

    1. Amen to that!! You are so right. Taking advantage of this free education is what it is all about –not taking it for granted. Life on and OFF the field. Real life–being prepared –using what you learned on the field to help you in every day–because sports is just sports–not to be worshipped like a golden calf. ( Guess we all saw how that happened in Happy Valley–we must ALL guard against that!!!) Go irish and GO ND grads and COLLEGE GRADS everywhere and change the world and enlighten us. Football is just a 3 hour diversion from other things.

  3. Filer is a class act who put team ahead of individual – from him holding up “X” above his head after the game to honor recently deceased team manager Xavier Murphy, to quietly and consistently accepting his role as an outstanding leader on special teams. Players like Filer make me proud to remain an ND fan. He will be an important part of wherever he finds his future niche. Kudos to you for being the special person you are, #46. Your contributions and attitude mark you as a special player in the ND tradition. May a speedy recovery and a bright future await you. You make us Chicagoans, and any knowledgeable ND fans, proud of who you have become.
    The future reaches out to a selfless team-oriented special special teams contributor.

  4. poor flier— i feel he was constantly overlooked like jonas gray was and finally was going to get a chance and this is what happens….

    FLier, Crist, Toma, and Jonas Gray are in my opinion a lot better than what they have produced. Some players need opportunity and confidence and then they take off look at Jonas

  5. Injuries really starting to mount up.

    I guess that “Next Guy In” philosophy will really be put to the test
    over the next few weeks.

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