Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ously we feel those kids are just getting better and better." The bonus of having Zaire on the field — and he and Bryant took advan- tage of this on multiple occasions — is utilizing the read option more than with Golson. Now that a quarterback competition appears to be in gear, Zaire knows he will have to overcome his habit — one he and Kelly admit to — of not focus- ing as well in practice as he does in game situations. "In the game, guys are actually hit- ting me. In practice, you get tapped or ran by, but the realness of being in the game definitely sparks me," Zaire said. "Nobody likes to get hit all the time. That factor plays a lot in it, but it needs to be more mental for me. "I need to get better in practice and continue to strive to be a great leader and quarterback." INJURIES MOUNT ON DEFENSE The Notre Dame defense entered the contest with USC in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum missing four of its usual starters — junior defensive line- men Sheldon Day (strained MCL) and Jarron Jones (Lisfranc tear in foot), se- nior linebacker Joe Schmidt (dislocated and fractured ankle) and fifth-year senior cornerback Cody Riggs (stress reaction in left foot). By the end of the defeat, it had lost three more starters and two reserves. "We've lost a lot of players on de- fense over the last five weeks," head coach Brian Kelly said. "It's been a very difficult run for us without key players on defense, having to play so many freshmen. "We just haven't been able to stop anybody." Fifth-year senior safety Austin Col- linsworth re-separated a chronic left shoulder injury, per Kelly. He spent the second half in sweats and a sling. Soph- omore safety Max Redfield broke a rib and was unable to even return to the sideline for fear of a lacerated spleen or liver. The injuries mounted so fast for the Irish that sophomore linebacker Jaylon Smith did not initially even real- ize Redfield was absent. "The speed of the game is going so fast, you're not worried about if we have enough personnel," Smith said. "We just have to go out there and give it our all." Freshman linebacker Greer Martini suffered a quad injury that prevented him from returning. Martini went down midway through the second quarter, and freshman linebacker Nyles Morgan could only play the second half Fifth-year senior safety Austin Collinsworth, who re-separated his left shoulder in the first half, was one of five Irish defenders who were knocked out of the game versus the Trojans due to injury. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA