Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Rob Hunt is very confident based upon the tear that they'll get him back in four months." At the time of his injury, Jones led the Irish linemen in tackles with 40 (23 solo) and was tied with fellow line starters, ju- nior Sheldon Day and sophomore Isaac Rochell, plus sophomore linebacker Jay- lon Smith, for most tackles for loss with 7.5. "One of the fallbacks here is that we're going to lose him in the weight room for a little bit," Kelly said. "One of the areas he had to really focus on was lower body strength. … He's done a really good job with his hands. We've got to get his lower body to meet what he's done with his hands. He can push anybody back. We haven't gotten the explosiveness from his lower body yet." As for Tranquill, who started in place of sophomore Max Redfield at free safety, he played through the second half of the Louisville game with the an ACL tear after passing a test on his knee during halftime. It wasn't until the next day when he arrived with a swollen knee that the training staff did an MRI, which showed the extent of the damage. Tranquill will also be sidelined at least four to six months. The spate of November injuries on defense began with senior linebacker Joe Schmidt, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Navy Nov. 1, fol- lowed by fifth-year senior cornerback Cody Riggs (stress reaction in foot) at Arizona State on Nov. 8, and Day (knee) and freshman reserve nose guard Dan- iel Cage (knee) versus Northwestern Nov. 15. Day had his second Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment the week of the USC game and the goal is to possibly get him ready for whatever bowl game Notre Dame plays. Cage's sprained knee sidelined him against Louisville, but he was listed on the depth chart as a backup for the regular-season finale at USC. Kelly had been optimistic about Cage's return for that game all along. Due to the injuries to Jones and Cage, sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Matuska was scheduled to make his first career start at USC. Freshman Jay Hayes' redshirt was removed in the 31-28 loss to Louisville, and Kelly said Hayes took 36 snaps. Junior nose guard Jarron Jones suffered a Lisfranc injury (a ligament tear in the middle of his foot) and is expected to be sidelined for four to six months after undergoing surgery. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA