Notre Dame safety Drue Tranquill tears ACL, out for season

Notre Dame has lost yet another starter to a season-ending injury.

Irish head coach Brian Kelly announced Sunday that sophomore safety Drue Tranquill suffered a torn right ACL in Saturday’s home win over Georgia Tech. Tranquill was injured in the second quarter against the Yellow Jackets when he fell awkwardly after celebrating a third-down end zone pass breakup.

[Check out Dr. Saturday on Tumblr for things you won’t see on the blog]

Tranquill was making his first start of the season for the Irish against the Yellow Jackets, and had four tackles before exiting with the injury.

Tranquill previously tore the ACL in his left knee in Nov. 2014. Before that injury, he played in 11 games and started three as a freshman, totaling 33 tackles and an interception.

Tranquill is the sixth starter Notre Dame has lost for the season, joining quarterback Malik Zaire (ankle), running back Tarean Folston (knee), defensive tackle Jarron Jones (knee), tight end Durham Smythe (knee, shoulder) and nickel corner Shaun Crawford (knee).

After the win over Georgia Tech, Notre Dame moved up to No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25. The 3-0 Irish host UMass on Saturday.

For more Notre Dame news, visit BlueAndGold.com.

- - - - - - -

Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @SamDCooper