Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 8, 2018 11 UNDER THE DOME Freshman defensive lineman Ja'Mion Franklin will miss the remainder of the 2018 season after undergoing quadriceps tendon surgery that re- quired reattaching the quad tendon to the bone. The gruesome injury occurred in the 56-27 win at Wake Forest Sept. 22 in which Franklin, among others, saw his first game action at Notre Dame in the latter portion of the contest. According to head coach Brian Kelly, the estima- tion is it will take at least three months for the tendon to reattach to the bone, and then about a six-month convalescence period to recover from the atrophy. How much he would be able to par- ticipate in spring drills is uncertain. Now eligible for a medical redshirt season, Frank- lin was the second interior defensive lineman the Irish lost in September. In the season opener ver- sus Michigan Sept. 1, sophomore defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa suffered a broken foot that was projected to shelve him about 10 weeks. However, there still might be an opportunity for Tagovailoa-Amosa to return later in the regular season, plus the bowl game, without losing eligi- bility. A new NCAA rule allows a student-athlete to play up to four games at any point of the season without losing a year of eligibility. In other news: • Junior right guard Tommy Kraemer was side- lined against Wake Forest as a precautionary mea- sure after he suffered an ankle injury during the week of practice. In his place, senior Trevor Ruhland — also the No. 2 center, behind captain Sam Mustipher — made his first career start and performed well on an offense that exploded for 56 points and 566 total yards. "We're going to let them both continue to com- pete," Kelly said of Kraemer's return to the posi- tion during the week of preparation for Stanford. "They've been really competing for that position over the last couple of weeks." When asked if Kraemer-Ruhland might become a tag tam the way Kraemer and Robert Hainsey did at right tackle last year, Kelly replied "could be." • After sitting out the first four games of 2018 with an "unofficial" suspension, senior running back Dexter Williams was expected to see his first action this season versus the Stanford Cardinal Sept. 29, and gradually assimilate into the lineup. "We've worked him through our team periods over the last few weeks, whether it be our blitz pickup period or our [skeletal] period," Kelly said. "He's ready to play for us [versus Stanford] if he continues to do what we expect him to do. "… He's better in all facets than the Dexter Wil- liams version that we had in the spring." Williams carried only 39 times last year, but aver- aged 9.2 yards per attempt. "He can be integrated within a backfield that is emerging and getting better each and every week," Kelly said. "That explosiveness, especially at the second level, he adds very nicely to that." • Sophomore tight end Cole Kmet, sidelined ver- sus Vanderbilt and Wake Forest after a high ankle sprain injury against Ball State Sept. 8, was cleared to practice during Stanford week. bit.ly/NDfallstyle FALL INTO THE SEASONS NEWEST STYLES SHOP NOW NOTRE DAME PERSONNEL NEWS & NOTES Senior running back Dexter Williams, who missed Notre Dame's first four games this season due to an "unofficial" suspension, was expected to add some explosiveness to the team's backfield when he returned to action versus Stanford Sept. 29. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL