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Elliott, who reviewed film of high school prospects while recovering from his surgery in February, didn't let his illness slow him down at any point last season. Photo courtesy notre dame media relations Elliott kept his condition well hidden from the players, even though he was forced to treat himself in the locker room in Dublin following the season-opening victory over Navy. "I tried to keep it from them," Elliott explained. "I told Matthias [Farley] and Zeke [Motta] and Jamoris [Slaughter] and some of those guys. Some of them saw me in the locker room. The rest of them maybe thought it was dehydration. That's not something they need to worry about, nor is it something that Brian Kelly needs to worry about. "I didn't want this to be a distraction to anybody. I'm sure it was a little bit, but I don't think it affected the way we operated in any way." Inspiration was how those in the know viewed Elliott's silent resolve, particularly Farley, who spent a lot of extra time breaking down film last year as a sophomore pushed into a starting role at a position slammed by injuries. "The guy is incredible," Farley said. "I don't know how you deal with all the pressure and all the stress on top of not having kidneys the entire season. If he didn't tell you, you'd never know. He never complained. He always had a smile on his face and always had high energy." Or so it seemed. Elliott is quick to say he's not a hero who overcame great pain to help transform a thin secondary into a stable unit that contributed to the Irish's12-0 regular season. It was his stamina that was affected last season, even if it was barely noticeable to those around him. "There's no pain involved in that," he explained. "It's a pain in the ass; it's very much an inconvenience, and you have to be pretty determined to not let it keep you from doing things you need to do." Gracious Thanksgiving Gift When Elliott required a bone marrow donor in 1998, he reached out to every conceivable relative and found a match in cousin Gregg Underwood. Another round of calls was necessary to identify a kidney donor, which some patients wait years to find. Willing, living donors are outnumbered by those in need of a transplant. Ten volunteers stepped up immediately, including his brother, Bill, and sister, Betsy. Because testing for possible matches is so expensive, the first to meet the criteria is usually selected. That honor belonged to Betsy, who informed Elliott of the news a couple days before Thanksgiving. "I was really lucky in the fact that I had a bunch of volunteers from my own family — not just brothers and sisters, but cousins … it was really gratifying to see," he said. On Feb. 6 — National Signing Day — one of Betsey's kidneys was successfully tucked under some fat just above her brother's waist, while the two dead kidneys inside Elliott's body were left to slowly fade away. Once the anesthesia wore off later that night, he phoned defensive back Cole Luke to congratulate him on signing with Notre Dame. Of course he also thanked his sister for a gift he says he can never reciprocate. "I owe her one," he said. "I'd love to be able to do the same for someone, but nobody wants my organs or blood." He's more than willing to give his players exactly what they need. "He was always coaching and always involved," Farley said. "It was a huge blessing for all of us to have him still there, and mentally there as well. The fact that he pushed through all of that shows how much he cares for all of us. "It pushed us. If Coach Elliott could go through that and still do everything he was doing 100 miles per hour, then I'm not going to complain. "It's just a phenomenal example of a coach. It shows how much he loves us and loves the game. He's just an awesome guy." The experience convinced Elliott that his superiors were the real deal. His dream job as the head coach at Iowa eluded him because of health issues, and he didn't want to see what he viewed as the summit for an assistant disappear so quickly. "Coach Kelly was as good as you can get," Elliott said. "[Athletics director] Jack Swarbrick was awesome through this whole thing. I didn't miss anything. I didn't miss a practice. I didn't miss a meeting. I wasn't late once. I didn't miss a recruiting trip. My mission was to prove every day that I could do my job. "Coach Kelly was great and [defensive coordinator] Bob Diaco was great. I don't know how many times they said to come in an hour late or do what I needed to do to feel as good as I could feel. I just wouldn't do that. "It makes me realize that we really do have a coaching staff here that believes in Notre Dame values. Coach Kelly is that way in everyday life, not just when he gets up and gives a speech. He proved to me that he lives Notre Dame values." ✦ Blue & Gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview ✦ 31 28-31.Bob Elliott.indd 31 6/25/13 8:32 AM