Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame's Medical Protocol Outlined Under enormous fire because of losing three games prior to October for the first time in its history, the University of Michigan football program took even more heat after its 30‑14 loss at home to Minnesota on Sept. 27 in which quarterback Shane Morris re‑ entered the game after suffering what was eventually determined to be a mild concussion. The firestorm prompted a public statement of apology from the school president, led to calls for the resignation of Michigan director of athletics David Brandon, and numerous inquiries about medical staff procedure. Consequently, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was asked about his program's medical protocols. The first point was head trainer Rob Hunt has "spotters" whose lone role is to spot any injuries on the field. "Then there is protocol for how those injuries are assessed," Kelly said, "including the need to go through a battery of tests on any injuries." One such example came in the second game of Kelly's Notre Dame career back in 2010 when starting quarterback Dayne Crist was dinged early against Michigan and went through numerous assessments and tests before finally getting reinserted in the second half. "Sometimes, I even get frustrated," Kelly admitted. "I want to get the guys in if they are capable, but they have a protocol they have to go through. Sometimes that requires them to leave the field and take them into the locker room. They have to be in a place where there's not so much stimulus. That just takes a while. … We understand that." Although there are so many moving parts to a game, Kelly said it's never his decision on who returns if an injury is involved. "Our trainers and our doctors control who goes back into the game," Kelly said. "It's out of the hands of coaches and assistant coaches. "There's a very cohesive group there. … This isn't one where a kid is going to suffer some form of an injury to their head and slide back out on the field. I haven't even seen an indication that that could possibly occur. If I thought there was a way that it could occur, we probably would have had that conversation already." 2015 Notre Dame Football Packages Sept. 5 Texas Sept. 19 Georgia Tech Sept. 26 UMass Oct. 10 Navy Oct. 17 USC Nov. 19 Wake Forest A Notre Dame trip makes A GREAT GIFT: Birthday, Father's Day, Graduation, Christmas, Retirement All details at diamondtravel.com or call 602-870-9197 DIAMOND TRAVEL 27 years in business Notre Dame emblems Blue & Gold Illustrated PO Box 2331 • Durham, NC 27702 1-800-421-7751 www.BlueGoldOnline.com Please add Sales Tax if you live in NC (7.5%), MI (6%), or IN (7%) Choice of Three Styles: ND Logo, Shamrock or Leprechaun Item #6602 $ 16 95 Free s&H