(Notre Dame) — There was plenty to observe as Notre Dame’s August 12 practice, as the Irish find themselves still 25 days away from the season opener with Wisconsin.

Prior to practice, the Irish announced that offensive lineman Matty Augustine and defensive back Chaz Smith had both suffered injuries during earlier practices that will require surgery.  Augustine broke the fifth metatarsal on his right foot, and was in workout clothes and a boot during Wednesday’s practice.  Smith has a right wrist injury. Both players are expected to return to play this season.

“Obviously, Matty going down is a real disappointment,” lamented Irish offensive line coach Joe Rudolph after practice. “He’s one of the better players in our room and one of the better players on our offense.”

Augustine has been battling Sullivan Absher for time at the right guard slot.

Another absence today was sophomore quarterback Blake Hebert, who was attending to a “personal matter”.  That gave more reps to Noah Grubbs and Teddy Jarrard as the battle for the backup quarterback position ensues.  We saw some of Grubbs in a brief uptempo scrimmage at the start of practice. Grubbs had a pass dropped by running back Jonaz Walton, but came right back to complete a pair to freshman receiver Kaydon Finley.

As for the first-team, the defense dominated with Bryce Young showing explosiveness on a play he likely would have picked up a sack of CJ Carr.

“Coach says clarity equals velocity,” noted Young afterwards. “We’re going to play fast and play violent.”

“Violent and fast,” echoed defensive end Boubacar Traore when asked about the defensive identity for the year. “I just want to play clear-minded and physical, just focus on our keys and playing through the whistle. We all want to play violent and do our job.”

New Irish defensive line coach Charlie Partridge certainly likes what he’s seen from his unit.

“To their credit, I came in with a high bar in mind, and they’ve lived up to it,” noted Partridge. “I wouldn’t say I’ve been surprised. I’ve been pleased. I told Coach (Marcus) Freeman this, and I’m going to tell him again. I haven’t been let down one bit.”

Irish fans hope they can say the same at the end of the season.