Notre Dame is expecting Leonard Moore and Jason Onye to play Saturday at No. 8 BYU after both practiced this week, a late-week lift for a defense that has been waiting on two of its injured pieces. Marcus Freeman said Thursday that Notre Dame is expecting both players to return in Provo.
The timing matters because Saturday is the next test, and the matchup comes on the road against a ranked opponent. Freeman said both players got some practice reps in the game plan, which is the clearest sign yet that their status has moved from uncertainty to real possibility.
Moore gives Notre Dame a proven cornerback back in the mix. He missed last week's game against Stanford because of a concussion, and he has eight tackles and four pass breakups this season. He also arrives with a longer track record: seven career interceptions, 22 pass breakups, freshman All-America recognition in 2024 and first-team All-America honors in 2025. That kind of production is why his availability has drawn attention all week.
Onye's path back has been longer. He has been out since the season opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay because of a left ankle injury, though he did have a tackle in that game. When both players are listed as questionable on Notre Dame's availability report for BYU, that is the catch: expected back does not yet mean fully cleared. In practice, questionable leaves room for a game-day decision, and Notre Dame has not crossed that final line.
Freeman put the expectation plainly: if they keep trending the way they have, Notre Dame is expecting them to hopefully help on Saturday. That leaves the final answer where big-game injury updates usually end up — with the availability report, the warmups and the first defensive snap in Provo.
