Julian Okwara’s Notre Dame career ended where the recruiting for it began. The senior defensive end fractured his fibula in Saturday’s Irish victory at Duke, in Okwara’s homestate. Though he was able to walk off the field on his own, creating some reason for optimism about the injury, head coach Brian Kelly said Sunday that it will require surgery.
A captain, Okwara finishes 2019 with 18 tackles, including six for loss with four sacks. He added seven more quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles, both in a starring performance against Virginia. One of those fumbles, also statistically a sack as he had three of Cavaliers quarterback Bryce Perkins, resulted in a defensive touchdown.