Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 23, 2019 7 UNDER THE DOME tion he was recruited to play before attrition in the backfield led to his shift to running back in 2018. He and Jones started against Louisville in a two-back formation, with the ability to split out. Last season, Armstrong rushed for 383 yards, 5.3 yards per carry and seven touchdowns, plus caught 14 passes for 159 yards. However, most of those stats — 245 rushing yards — came in the first four games when senior running back Dexter Williams was suspended. A knee infection sidelined Arm- strong after the fourth game. He did not see action in the next three con- tests and never was quite the same the rest of the season. In the final three games, including the Cotton Bowl in the semifinal College Foot- ball Playoff, Armstrong totaled only five carries for 24 yards and had two catches for eight yards. BORN TO RUN Minus Armstrong, Jones was the workhorse in the backfield against the Cardinals while taking 41 of the 65 snaps on offense, per Pro Football Focus. "I was born and raised to do this," Jones said of taking on the lead role. "I've been waiting for this my whole life, really, to just go out on the field with no regrets and play hard for my boys." He's had "flashes" throughout his career, highlighted by his career- high 118 rushing yards and 56 re- ceiving yards in the 22-17 win versus Vanderbilt last year, but durability over the course of an arduous season is the next test. "I think I can do that in all my games," Jones said after his 110-yard rushing effort at Louisville. "Coach [Kelly] told us early that we were going to run, run, run the ball, so I wanted to make it evident that we were going to run the ball down their throat." Later with the Irish clinging to a 21-14 lead, Jones picked up a crucial block on defensive end Amonte Ca- ban that provided senior quarterback Ian Book the extra second needed to find sophomore tight end Tommy Tremble on a 26-yard touchdown pass. Even last year, Jones was consid- ered Notre Dame's best all-around back — runner, receiver and blocker — but nagging injuries or a crisis in confidence often held him back from fulfilling his potential. Since the spring, though, Kelly has proclaimed that Jones is primed to actualize his full skill set. "We're seeing a guy that is running with low pads, playing physical, and it's the same guy every day," Kelly said near the end of spring. "We got an A-plus Tony one day and [then] a C-plus Tony [in past years]; we're getting a consistent Tony every single day." Following the Louisville game, the head coach said Jones has become relaxed with his role. "He knows exactly what we're ask- ing of him, and I think that has made him much more comfortable with what he's doing on a day-to-day ba- sis," Kelly said. "There were times where he wasn't certain what his role was, and it caused him some anxiety at times." ✦ Cole Kmet Practicing Again Junior starting tight end Cole Kmet, who broke his collarbone during practice at Culver Academies Aug. 8, was involved in seven-on-seven drills during the bye week following the season opener at Louisville Sept. 2, and some full team work as well. X-rays taken showed significant progress, and he was cleared by the medical staff to do football related drills in practices. The issue boiled down to whether the staff wanted to use him against the five-touchdown underdog New Mexico Lobos Sept. 14, when junior starter Brock Wright and emerging sophomore Tommy Tremble (three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown at Louisville) were available, as well as sophomore George Takacs. The other option was to provide Kmet a little extra time to continue healing while getting back into a rhythm for the showdown at No. 3 Georgia Sept. 21. "His X-rays looked really good," head coach Brian Kelly said during preparations for New Mexico. " … That's going to be a day-to-day situation as to how we see how far we want to accelerate him." Meanwhile, junior starting wide receiver Michael Young, who incurred his broken collarbone Aug. 17, also has continued to progress satisfactorily, although not yet ready for any time or game snaps versus New Mexico or perhaps even Georgia. "You're looking for problems like non-healing, and we don't have that with him, which is a good sign," Kelly noted of Young. — Lou Somogyi Kmet, who broke his collarbone Aug. 8 during preseason camp, was cleared by medical staff and returned to practice with the team following the Louisville game Sept. 2. While he's available for the New Mexico home opener, he may just be held out until the following week's game at Georgia. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER