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✦ News & notes Nick Watkins, Illinois inside linebacker Nyles Morgan and Florida running back Bo Scarbrough, plus current high school juniors as well. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly recognizes that recruiting is the lifeblood of any college football program, but the first priority is to not lose sight of game preparation and concentration. "Ninety percent of our focus will be on the game," Kelly said. "We won't be distracted by the recruiting process. We've got a recruiting office that will take care of a lot of that. "The atmosphere, the game, the people around will take care of the environment. And then just win the damn game. Win the game. That's what you need to do. "Be cordial. If you can say hi to a recruit, if you can shake their hands, make sure you do a good job: high touch, customer service, let's do all those things and do a great job with it. Show them a great time, be as gracious as we can with our time. "But they understand. They're football players. They want the coaches to be focused on the game and win the game." There were many lessons learned from that 31-17 loss in 2012 that led to Kelly's infamous and sometimes overplayed "my guys" statement and precipitated a temporary team fracture. One involved recruiting. "Win the game, and you get more recruits," Kelly said. Injury Updates The bye week gave Notre Dame a chance to first rest some of its banged up players who had been taking the lion's share of reps in games this season. It also provided more practice reps and an opportunity to do some evaluation of those either getting about 10 to 15 snaps per Sophomore defensive end Sheldon Day, who has been hampered by a sprained ankle since the win over Purdue Sept. 15, is expected to be a part of the game plan against USC. photo by bill panzica ✦ Page 13 game, including junior Dog linebacker Ben Councell, sophomore defensive end Jarron Jones and a plethora of freshmen. • Sophomore defensive end Sheldon Day is expected to be a part of the game plan against USC, according to head coach Brian Kelly. Day practiced with the team on Monday and will be finally made available to the media on Wednesday (another good sign that he is back in full commission). He sprained his ankle in a win over Purdue Sept. 15 and did not play in the next two games. He played very sparingly against Arizona State 10 days ago. • Junior Chase Hounshell is close to returning to the field after his second shoulder surgery in as many years during spring practice. Kelly said the defensive end could be back in pads in the next two weeks. Eligibility rules might allow him an extra year on the field because he was injured in back-to-back seasons, which may play a role in dictating whether or not he plays this fall. • Freshman wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. also impressed physically in extended reps during the bye week. Hunter, who broke his femur at an all-star event last winter, won't play this season. Kelly said if not for the injury Hunter would likely be fighting for a spot on the depth chart. "Hunter is very impressive," Kelly said. "He had great speed and quickness, and is very sure-handed. He has a lot of the attributes that we thought he did. We're very excited about him." • Freshman outside linebacker Doug Randolph and sophomore safety Nicky Baratti have a longer rehab road ahead of them. Both players went through similar shoulder surgeries in August. • Junior defensive lineman Tony Springmann is also in the early stages of his rehab process after blowing out his knee in training camp. ✦