Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/651219
UNDER THE DOME Joe Schmidt Played 2015 Season With Injury Every starter on a college football team is going to endure numerous ail‑ ments during the course of a 13‑game season, but former Irish linebacker Joe Schmidt reportedly played through much more in 2015. Schmidt told ESPN that he will undergo surgery on his left shoulder in April to repair his AC joint and a slight tear in his posterior labrum, injuries that he said he suffered during the second week of fall camp in August. While the Orange, Calif., native started all 13 games in 2015, his produc‑ tion was down from an injury‑halted 2014 campaign. He recorded 78 tackles as the middle linebacker in 13 games in 2015 and 65 tackles in eight games in 2014. "I think everybody's got to play with injuries. You've got to learn to deal with them," Schmidt told ESPN. "Being injured and being hurt are two dif‑ ferent things. I knew I could still participate and contribute to the team. "I thought I just needed to manage it and be smart about how I went the rest of the year. The coaching and training staff was great with that process, but it makes for a long year." — Andrew Owens Schmidt will undergo surgery on his left shoulder in April to repair his AC joint and a slight tear in his posterior labrum, injuries that he said he suffered during the second week of fall camp this past August. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA