Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1426496
6 NOV. 13, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL O bserve a college football team leave the practice field in early November, and you'll see a common theme. Cuts. Bumps. Bruises. Taped-up ankles or wrists. A brace here or there. Those are just on the surface. There are bum knees, shoulders and legs that don't look any different on the outside or force a player out of action, but they linger like a gnat. Notre Dame is no exception. Junior defensive end Isaiah Foskey won't miss a game with a shoulder issue that briefly sidelined him during Notre Dame's 44-34 win over North Carolina Oct. 30, but it's not disappearing in a day. Grad- uate student quarterback Jack Coan came into his media session following the North Carolina game with his hand taped. "It's really nothing," Coan said. "I guess the trainers were just being cau- tious." Notre Dame's coaches must be cau- tious as well with the amount of hit- ting in practice and player workload this time of year. Especially with their line- backers. The Irish can't afford any more injuries to their shallowest defensive position. They also need their starters to make it through the season with enough tread on their tires. The issue is squarely on head coach Brian Kelly's radar. To keep them ready for stretch-run Saturdays, they require carefully planned load management from Sunday through Friday. "They still have to run, you still have to get max velocity, you still have to give them a workload. But you can limit the contact," Kelly said. "They still have to see it, still have to play fast. They can't get over the top of a double-team, they can't work downhill and do the things you need to do at that position if you're in walk-through. "You just can't be ready. They can play fast, but we limit their contact." Thanks to a two-week stretch right UNDER THE DOME LOAD MANAGEMENT Notre Dame knows it must be careful with thin linebacker unit's workload down the stretch Junior linebacker JD Bertrand played the second-most snaps (513) of any Notre Dame defender through eight games. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER