Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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When Notre Dame began summer workouts on June 10, head coach Brian Kelly expressed cautious optimism that senior Mike linebacker Jarrett Grace will be able to take the field for the Aug. 30 season opener versus Rice. Grace underwent major surgery last October after shattering several bones in his right leg dur- ing the 37-34 victory over Arizona State on Oct. 5 in Dallas. While continuing his rehab, Grace underwent a second surgery in March that placed a pin in his leg. Although Grace was sidelined during spring drills, Kelly said a "very, very aggressive" program with Grace's rehab was implemented in June. "We're going full go for him to be ready for Rice," Kelly said. "He wants to do it that way." Kelly noted that if Grace and the training staff took their time in his rehab this summer, he would prob- ably not be ready to play for the first few weeks of the season. "That's not what he wants, so we're going to go after it and hope for the best," Kelly said. Grace started three games at linebacker last sea- son and was the team's leading tackler before his injury. In his place, senior Joe Schmidt (15 tackles, two for loss and one pass defended) held the first- string Mike (middle) linebacker position throughout spring football. The Irish head coach also revealed that 6-4½, 254-pound senior Ben Councell, who played outside linebacker last season and was credited with 15 stops and one pass defended, could provide some size at middle linebacker if needed. Councell missed all of spring practice while recovering from ACL sur- gery, but was able to partake in summer condition- ing work. Freshman Nyles Morgan is expected to be another option at the Mike position. UNDER THE DOME ✦ GIMME FIVE On June 30, Joe Piane, head coach of the Notre Dame men's cross country and men's and wom- en's indoor and outdoor track and field programs, retired after 39 years in those roles. The longtime fixture was a two-time national coach of the year for cross country who produced 11 top-10 finishes over the past 25 seasons, high- lighted by third place in 1990 and 2005 (the pro- gram's best since winning the 1957 NCAA title). He instructed 189 Irish All-Americans, including 12 from the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships. Over 18 seasons in the Big East (1996-2013), Piane led Notre Dame to 26 championships: 13 in men's track and field (indoor and outdoor), five women's track and field (indoor and outdoor), five in men's cross country and three in women's cross country. Here are the five longest coaching tenures at Notre Dame: Coach, Sport Years 1. Jake Kline, Baseball 42 (1934-75) 2. Joe Piane, Track/X-Country 39 (1975-2014) 3. Mike DeCicco, Fencing 34 (1962-95) 4. Tom Fallon, Tennis 31 (1957-87) 5. Tim Welsh, Swimming 30 (1985-2014) Note: Dennis Stark was the swim coach 28 years (1958-85) and Muffet McGraw is entering her 28th season as the women's basketball coach. Jarrett Grace Is Working To Suit Up For The Opener Notre Dame expects Grace to be healthy enough to compete for playing time in the season opener against Rice Aug. 30. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA