Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/594735
UNDER THE DOME Joe Schmidt Bats Cleanup Preseason watch lists can often elicit some doubts about how the process is vetted. For example, this summer Notre Dame sophomore Nyles Morgan was on the 51-man Butkus Award watch list with junior teammate Jaylon Smith — while fifth-year senior and 2014 Notre Dame MVP Joe Schmidt was omitted. Although Schmidt, who has to overcome ankle surgery and a thumb injury, has had his struggles this season as the starting Mike linebacker, Morgan is not going to replace him unless there is an emergency, per head coach Brian Kelly. "Joe has been a cleanup hitter for us, if you will, and we don't want to take him out of the lineup," Kelly said. Morgan, who started in place of the injured Schmidt last year, has played primarily on special teams this season and has been the consummate team player while patiently waiting for his turn in 2016. "He's just handled himself extremely well," Kelly said of Morgan. "He's been very impactful on special teams for us, and he's ready to go in and play for us [at linebacker]. "We're just feeling very comfortable keeping Joe in the lineup. Having not had [Schmidt] for so many games last year, we want to get every snap out of him that's possible. I think it's really less about Nyles and more about keep- ing Joe on the field." — Lou Somogyi Schmidt, a fifth‑year senior linebacker, missed the final five games of 2014 due to an injury, but he has not been off the field for a single first‑team snap in 2015. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA