Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY ANDREW OWENS J arrett Grace points to this Feb- ruary as the turning point in his recovery from a fractured leg suffered more than 18 months ago. The middle linebacker and ris- ing leader of the Irish defense went down in 2013, but did his best to stay positive throughout the comeback at- tempt. One moment during offseason training solidified his expectation of returning to the field. "During the winter workouts, something just clicked," Grace said. "I had been grinding for so long with the trainers and the weight room. I don't know what it was, but there was one day we started doing some testing, like with the vertical jump. That's where I was like, 'I'm kind of back to myself.' I went from having a 13-inch vertical in November and then a 30-inch vertical in February. I was like, 'Holy cow.' "That was a psychological boost as well. It was like, 'I can do this again.' Then things started clicking, just running fast and being explo- sive." Grace's long and grueling journey began at the Shamrock Series game against Arizona State in Arlington, Texas, on Oct. 5, 2013. When he ini- tially went down with what was eventually diagnosed as a fractured leg in multiple places, he thought he would just walk it off and return in time for the next game. Medical per- sonnel speculated his football career might be over forever. "Immediately after the injury and getting X-rays, I was taken back to the locker room and it didn't really sink in, me being hurt, because I'd never had that kind of injury before. Our mindset was if you're winded or tired, you tap your helmet. Take a break and come back out. That was the first time I tapped my helmet," he said. "I was like, 'Oh, I'm going to have to walk this one off.' I couldn't really get up. That was really interest- ing and different for me. … I started seeing teammates coming up to me AMAZING GRACE Middle linebacker Jarrett Grace endured a long journey back to the field after suffering a devastating injury