Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/200019
Under the Dome "The only thing that was tough was always having to hear about it. People were always talking to you about it; that got annoying. I was like, 'You're the reason why I came here, and you need to understand that none of that really matters to me because I left that place for a reason.' If I was feeling a certain way about that then, I should have never left. People would be like, 'Why are you so mad?' That's all you guys talk about: 'Oh, you could've done this and done that.' I don't want to hear that, because if that's what I wanted, I would've stayed there." — Former Notre Dame defensive end Aaron Lynch on listening to people talk about how he could've played on the 2012 Notre Dame team that played in the national championship game (ESPN.com) Tweet Of The Month ➤ @KyleBrindza: "Use to just sit back and take notes from my man [Ben] Turk and finally have got my chance to show what I can do. Working double duty is love. #FlippingFields #BOOMstick" Junior kicker and punter Kyle Brindza on learning from former Irish punter Ben Turk Louis Nix III: Too Much Of A Target At 6-3 and 357 pounds, senior nose guard Louis Nix III is easy to spot on a football field or anywhere else. That shouldn't mean he should be easy to target, according to head coach Brian Kelly. During Notre Dame's 14-10 victory versus USC Oct. 19, Nix hurt his shoulder on one fourth-quarter blind-side (but legal) block that launched him through the air and left him sore for days. However, upon further review, there were other plays that Kelly said could have led to more serious health issues for Nix. "We showed some [video] clips to the officials where we thought he was targeted on some plays that we weren't happy with," Kelly said several days later. Extra precautions were taken with Nix, who did not make the trip to Air Force because of knee tendinitis. The military teams employ cut blocks and go against Nix's strengths, but he might be ready for Navy. It is more vital to get him ready NIX for the home stretch in November. "To throw him in there without really being able to engage the way you need those guys to be engaged, it doesn't make any sense to play him," Kelly said. In other injury news: • Sophomore safety Elijah Shumate suffered a hamstring injury two days before the USC game and was listed as questionable for Air Force, but he did make the trip to Colorado Springs. • Senior captain and cornerback Bennett Jackson had his surgically repaired shoulder overextended on a play against USC and missed some action before returning. "He's always been a tough kid," Kelly praised. • The hard-hitting game against USC took its toll on the Trojans, too. Three days after the Notre Dame game, the Los Angeles Times reported that 13 USC players were sidelined from practice while resting their wounds. Tight ends Xavier Grimble and Randall Telfer and running back Justin Davis suffered injuries that sidelined them for the Oct. 26 Utah game.