Notre Dame football is preparing for a big season but they've been dealt a pair of injuries prior to the campaign. Head coach Marcus Freeman announced Saturday that tight end Kevin Bauman and defensive end Aiden Gobaira will both miss the entire year with knee injuries.

Via Pat Forde:

“Notre Dame injury update from Marcus Freeman: tight end Kevin Bauman (partial ACL tear) and defensive end Aiden Gobaira (full tear) out for the season.”

Bauman isn't a starter, but he was expected to definitely be a part of the TE group in 2023. He's dealt with a flurry of injuries throughout his college career and now his senior season is a write-off. Bauman does have the most experience of any tight end on the roster, but it won't matter now. Brutal news for him.

As for Gobaira, he looked solid in the fall and was undoubtedly making a push to be a regular part of the defensive rotation. However, he suffered a knee injury and it was ultimately deemed a torn ACL. Not ideal by any means for Gobaira or Notre Dame football.

In other injury news, freshman wideout KK Smith is still dealing with a shoulder issue. It's unknown at this point if he'll play at all this season. Freeman didn't speak on the situation too much. Notre Dame is ranked No. 18 on AP's latest Top 25. They lost Tyler Buchner to Alabama but did manage to lure in Sam Hartman from Wake Forest to replace him at quarterback.

Should be an interesting campaign in South Bend.