Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME "I will not be playing this season and will most likely miss the spring semester as well," he posted on social media Oct. 10. "But regardless, I will be back at this university in June 2015 ready to go in the summer, and ready to make history during the 2015 sea- son!" Hardy will be the only one of the five to return to so much as the prac- tice field this season, Kelly said two days before Notre Dame faced No. 2 Florida State Oct. 18. "We have some work to do in terms of his academic work he's working on right now in terms of trying to get that organized," Kelly said. "But if we're able to get some of those things orga- nized, we're going to bring him back to practice after we get back from the bye. "I have invited him back on the ros- ter to practice." While Kelly's choice of words leaves only speculation as to if Hardy can or will play, his return to the prac- tice field alone will help the Irish im- mensely. With Hardy's absence, safety depth has been a concern all season, and now with both fifth-year senior Austin Collinsworth and junior Nicky Baratti out with shoulder injuries, ev- ery warm body equipped to play on the defense's back line is vital. If noth- ing else, Hardy will provide reps in practice to allow the starters — junior Elijah Shumate and sophomore Max Redfield — chances to review plays from the sidelines. Four days after Russell's Instagram post, Kelly announced Williams plans to follow the same path as the corner- back. "The only two players that I know of that have spoken to me are Kei- Varae and Ishaq, and both of them will not be with us this year," Kelly said. "[Williams] would like to be back [next year] as well." Since he did not play this year, Wil- liams will be eligible for a fifth year next year. In essence, sitting out 2014 has the same effect on his eligibility as sitting out his freshman season would have had. To confirm Kelly's resolu- tion to his mystery, Williams followed Russell's lead and took to Twitter. "God will not put you through any- thing you can't handle," he posted. On Oct. 14, Daniels had posted his own viral announcement, though his did not include the same neces- sarily optimistic tone. Initially, the re- ceiver who was supposed to be Notre Dame's leading perimeter threat this season began by posting a simple, "Fi- nally" on Twitter. Soon thereafter, his father, Phillip, added a bit more clarity. "Finally after over 4 months my son got an answer!" the elder Dan- iels posted on Twitter. "He is done at Notre Dame and will weigh his op- tions for the future!" Phillip Daniels later added it was possible his son returns to Notre Dame, identifying it as an "option … that is being considered," yet as of the evening of Oct. 16, Kelly said he had not spoken to his possibly former receiver. While Hardy rejoins the Irish in a week, Russell and Williams plan to return in seven months and Daniels ponders his possibilities, Moore's jour-