Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Prosise, who rushed for 779 yards and nine touchdowns during Notre Dame's 5-1 start, has gone from a role player in the slot, to the workhorse of Notre Dame's offense in the span of just eight months. In an effort to keep him fresh down the stretch, head coach Brian Kelly limited the running back's contact leading up to the USC game, after which the Irish enjoyed a bye week. "C.J. takes a lot of hits during the sea- son," Kelly said. "So we've had to find a happy medium there. And going into the seventh game, I made the decision that C.J.'s not one of those backs that we're going to thud. "We're going to thud [freshmen Josh Adams and Dexter Williams], but C.J.'s not a guy we're going to thud this week. We're going to take a week off and then maybe we can add some more thud back into our work, but we have to be careful with it." UNDER THE DOME PAT EILERS ENDOWS DEFENSIVE BACKS COACHING POSITION Former Irish player Pat Eilers, a member of the 1988 national champions, and his wife contributed a $3 million gift to endow the football program's defensive backs coaching position. "Pat epitomizes everything that Notre Dame athletics stands for," director of athletics Jack Swarbrick said. "A star in the classroom and on the field while at Notre Dame, Pat translated the lessons learned here into success as a professional football player, businessman, family man and community leader. "This extraordinary gift is just one of many ways in which Pat and Jana continue to give back to Notre Dame. "I have not met anyone who believes more strongly in the value of intercollegiate athletics and the role it can play in educating young people. We are very fortunate to count Pat and Jana among the members of the Notre Dame family." Eilers served as a defensive quality control assistant in 2014 while taking a sabbatical from his position as managing director of Madison Dearborn Partners in Chicago. He filled in for graduate assistant Kyle McCarthy, who was on medical leave during a bout with cancer. "This gift is simply an expression of our gratitude to those professors, coaches and administrators who have dedicated their lives to Notre Dame's unique mission of striving for excellence in academics, athletics and spirituality, while upholding the highest standards of integrity and character," Eilers said in the state- ment. "It's a privilege to give back, and we're excited the resources will be used to endorse my friend and former teammate [and current defensive backs coach] Todd Lyght." Notre Dame limited the practice workload of Prosise lead- ing up to the Oct. 17 contest against USC in order to keep him fresh for the remainder of the season. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA