Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Luke Talich will be out this weekend against the Purdue Boilermakers, according to a Notre Dame source.

The senior defensive back, who stepped in for injured star safety Brauntae Johnson and turned in one of the most impressive individual performances of the season against Michigan State, is dealing with what has been described as a thumb injury rather than the wrist ailment initially reported, which also required a minor procedure earlier this week.

The good news for head coach Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame’s defense is that this is not expected to be a long-term concern.

Freeman described Talich’s status as uncertain while waiting for more results, but from everything I have gathered, the 6-4, 220-pound Wyoming native will not be available on Saturday. There is some expectation, however, that Talich should be back the following week when Notre Dame travels down to Chapel Hill to take on Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Talich made his case against Michigan State

Talich started in place of Johnson against the Spartans, and Notre Dame came away with a 27-10 victory. In that game, Talich finished with three total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and a pass breakup. There is a legitimate argument that he was the best player on Notre Dame’s very talented defense this past weekend.

The talented senior has had to wait his turn after initially coming to Notre Dame as a walk-on.

He was a rare walk-on, however, choosing the Fighting Irish over several Pac-12 offers at the time and Wyoming, a program he has deep family ties to. Talich quickly earned his spot three seasons ago, first becoming one of Notre Dame’s best special teamers before developing into one of the biggest best-kept secrets in college football.

There are a lot of college teams that Talich would be starting for right now. Whenever Johnson comes back, Talich has probably forced himself into a position to play a whole lot more than he was before the injury. Notre Dame’s top three safeties are as good as anyone’s in college football.

Notre Dame’s safety depth remains strong

Fortunately for the Fighting Irish, the depth at safety is as good as it has been in South Bend in a very long time.

Outside of Adon Shuler starting on the back end, Notre Dame has five-star freshman Joey O’Brien, who should see some increased opportunities after playing a significant amount of special teams over the first three games. Sophomore safety Ethan Long is also a player who flashed a ton in 2025 when given some late-game opportunities.

Both players should be next up on the depth chart to contribute with Talich on the sideline for the Purdue game.

This is an opportunity for Freeman and defensive coordinator Chris Ash to see some of the younger safeties potentially flourish and continue to bolster that depth. Once again, this should be nothing more than a short-term concern.

Long-term, Talich will be just fine, and there is a good chance he could be back on the field when the Fighting Irish take on the Tar Heels the following week.