UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE
M
aking no excuses and speaking
only in general terms, Notre
Dame head coach Brian Kelly
used the phrase "Boy, why us?" when
asked last week about the injury epi-
demic that has already infiltrated his
team this season.
And while Kelly was talking col-
lectively about the feelings of every
college football coach, that simple
three-word phrase is quickly becom-
ing more fitting than every coach's
signature mantra of "Next Man In."
When pressed on the injury issue,
Kelly indicated there is no pattern or
correlation to losing five key contribu-
tors for the season in a span of just 30
days.
Be it in practice or game, on fake
or natural turf, with or without con-
tact, each of the Irish injuries came
under different circumstances, leaving
nothing to blame except the every day
risks of playing football — though the
critical positions in which these medi-
cal maladies have occurred suggest
to many there is some sort of curse at
work.
Quarterback Malik Zaire and tight
end Durham Smythe, both juniors,
were subtracted from the depth chart
and added to the inactive list during
the Virginia game: Zaire with a frac-
tured ankle and Smythe with a torn
MCL. They join senior nose guard
Jarron Jones (MCL), freshman defen-
sive back Shaun Crawford (ACL) and
junior running back Tarean Folston
(ACL) on a surgical ledger that is
quickly becoming an advanced course
in physiology.
Through all the injuries, Kelly re-
fuses to feel sorry for himself or use an
early-season mulligan in case his team
falters during this difficult stretch of
games that includes Georgia Tech,
Clemson and USC in the span of a
month.
Instead, he continually emphasizes
that this is the deepest team he has
fielded in his six seasons here — which
Depth Provides Hope Amid
Injury Woes
Head coach Brian Kelly's team has lost five key
players to season-ending injuries, but possesses
the type of quality depth that will allow it to thrive
and not just survive.
PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND
