Notre Dame football will welcome back injured defensive star with open arms

If the 3-1 start to the season has been a bit of a disappointment for the Notre Dame football team, then the number of players that have been lost for the season is injury to insult. The Irish have lost a couple of offensive linemen, a defensive back and defensive lineman Jordan Botelho all since fall camp started.

Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Irish game versus Louisville on Saturday afternoon, Freeman made it clear that while Botelho is gone for the 2024 campaign, he would absolutely welcome him back in 2025.

"We'd love to have him back,” the Notre Dame football head coach told the assembled media. The question is whether the defender will want to come back to South Bend one more time, or whether he’ll want to move on to the rest of his football career.

The Vyper defensive end saw his season abruptly end when he injured his right knee in the first half of Notre Dame’s blowout win over Purdue. The fifth-year grad student was off to the best start of his career.

Notre Dame football defender will be welcomed back in 2025

Despite playing in just two and a half games, Botelho had already notcehd 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 2 quarterback hurries. 

The defensive lineman has already had surgery on the injured knee and Freeman and his staff have already given Botelho the chance to return for one more year since 2024 will count as a redshirt season.

For now, there’s no rush for the defender to decide whether he’ll depart after the season or return to the Notre Dame football team for one more run.