It’s looking more and more likely that Notre Dame will get All American cornerback Leonard Moore back this Saturday for its game against Boise State.

Notre Dame officially listed more as ‘probable’ on Thursday after he’s been listed as questionable the last two weeks and did not play against either Purdue or Arkansas. Moore suffered a high ankle sprain in the game against Texas A&M on September 13th, returned to the game and played effectively before having to sit out the next two weeks.

Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said Thursday that Moore has made tremendous gains and is practicing more than he has since the injury.

“I’m sure it’s a frustrating injury,” Freeman said. “I know from experience, it takes a while to get to where you want to go. We think he’s going to be able to help us this weekend. He’s been practicing more than he ever has since the injury but he won’t be — no matter what– he won’t be 100%. It just takes time to heal that thing but Leonard at less than 100% will help our defense. If he continues to progress as we get through this week, I see him helping us on Saturday.”

With Moore still not 100% when he returns, expect to see plenty of Mark Zachary in reserve. The freshman has developed nicely over the last few weeks after being ‘thrown’ into the fire when Moore went down.

“He’s owned the issues just like his coach has, just like we all have,” Freeman said of the development of Zachary on Monday. “He’s really been intentional about the work in practice and understanding that we’ve got to treat practice, the speed of practice, even though it might not be replicated, in my head, it’s got to be like a game.”

“We’ve got a lot of trust in him,” Freeman continued on Zachary. “We have confidence that now Mark can spell Leonard and Christian (Gray). We need that. You’re not really comfortable with just two corners, not with college football right now. We’ve got to have a third guy that we feel like can roll in and help.”

Notre Dame’s secondary got a boost against Arkansas when nickel Devonta Smith returned.

After playing less than 10 snaps against the Razorbacks, defensive lineman and captain Donovan Hinish has also been upgraded from questionable to probable as he battles back from a shoulder injury.

Additional Notes from Marcus Freeman’s Thursday Zoom call with the Media:

• Irish Wear Green: Saturday is the “Irish Wear Green” game and Freeman confirmed Notre Dame will wear green themselves
• Pressure from Boise State Defense: Freeman says the pressure Boise State brings on defense is fundamentally sound and they are in tune with what they are doing. They will make you earn everything you get on the offensive end. Says you have to win your 1-on-1 battles in this game.
• On the efficiency of Notre Dame’s red zone offense in scoring touchdowns and not settling for field goals: Freeman: “More than anything it’s the clarity and understanding the plan this week.” Says they get the ball in the hands of the players they trust, the offensive line dictates the tempo and the quarterbacks have done a nice job protecting the football in the red zone.

Notre Dame faces Boise State at 3:30pm Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.