Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/424772
BY ANDREW OWENS O n his second play back from his second injury of the season, fifth-year senior safety Austin Collinsworth scooped up a fumble and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown against Northwestern on Nov. 15. He noticeably restrained him- self from lifting his left arm — plagued by a shoulder dislocation in October that now requires a harness — during the ensuing touchdown celebration. "I can raise it above my head, but this brace is a little restricting, so I just keep it tight. I didn't want to have a celebration injury," Collinsworth said with a laugh. "Those are pretty embarrassing." There's nothing embarrassing about the effort Collinsworth has made to re- turn to the field in 2014. An MCL strain held him out through September, and in only his second game back — the 50-43 win over North Carolina on Oct. 11 — he suffered a left shoulder dislocation that shelved him for another month. Most players would have hung it up for the rest of the season and either applied for a medical redshirt or fo- cused on landing on an NFL roster next spring. Not Collinsworth. "The big reason why you force your- self to play through pain and risk of long-term, lifelong injuries, it's your teammates," said Collinsworth, who had made 11 tackles (1.5 for loss) head- ing into the regular-season finale at USC. "You just don't want to let those guys down." Even with a regular season that con- cluded with Collinsworth appearing in only five of 12 games, his mark has been left on the program in a number of ways. "This year he's done it with a demand of personal accountability. Specifically, on the unity council, he's the guy that has really gotten that council to be a strong mover within this 2014 team," head coach Brian Kelly said. "I alluded to it on a couple of occasions, that's why I was holding back on naming captains, SHOULDERING THE PAIN Fifth-year senior captain Austin Collinsworth plays through injuries for ma- ligned defense