Notre Dame will be without team captain and starter Rylie Mills for the remainder of the College Football Playoff.

The Irish will play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl CFP quarterfinals in New Orleans on Jan. 1 at 8:45 p.m.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman gave an update on Mills, who injured his right knee in the third quarter of the Irish’s 27-17 first-round win over Indiana, at his press conference on Monday.

“You can’t replace Riley Mills,” Freeman said. “Yes, the production, but the leadership, captain…. You feel terrible for him as a person, for a guy who decided to come back and improve his draft stock.

“The value he has given to this team is enormous. You have to replace the production and what he did for our defense in different ways.”

Mills led the Notre Dame defense with eight sacks this season, along with a team-leading 34 QB pressures and 21 QB hurries.

“We have skilled guys who will step up who have progressed all year,” Freeman said, “and those guys will play a bigger role.”

Freshman defenseman Bryce Young received medical attention during the win over Indiana, but Freeman indicated he will be available for the game against the Bulldogs.

Freeman added offensive lineman Rocco Spindler, a graduate student, to the list of players who will be “questionable” for the Sugar Bowl game.

Spindler started his ninth game against Indiana at right guard, but left the game in the first half with an apparent ankle injury and did not play in the second half.

Receiver KK Smith (clavicle) and linebackers Bodie Kahoun (leg) and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (knee) are also questionable due to injuries heading into the postseason.

Freeman said he is confident his team will continue to find ways to deal with adversity while applying his “choose hard” mentality.

“It’s in the tough times and the lowest moments that you learn the most about yourself and your team,” said Freeman, whose team overcame a 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois in the second week of the season to win 10 straight games to move into the playoff field 12 teams.

“They are resilient, they are tough, they keep fighting, and they choose to find ways to evolve.”

Notre Dame availability report

With Freeman, the PFF snap counts

OUT OF

DT Rylie Mills (knee), 539 snaps

CB Benjamin Morrison (hip), 314 snaps

DL Boubacar Traore, (knee), 133 snaps

CB Jaden Mickey (Portal), 82 snaps

QUESTIONABLE

RG Rocco Spindler (ankle), 598 snaps

WR KK Smith (clavicle), 90 snaps

LB Bodie Kahoun (leg), 30 snaps

LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (knee), 262 snaps