Notre Dame escaped their 35-14 win over NC State relatively unscatehd but starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush did get dinged up, starting tight end Alize Mack is in the concussion protocol, and several other starters are battling through some nagging injuries. Most importantly though, it doesn’t sound as of now like any of the injuries are major enough – other than Mack – to keep any players out for this weekend’s game against Wake Forest. Here’s the full post NC State injury report.
- Brandon Wimbush – Tweaked his ankle in the 4th quarter and was visibly limited down the stretch. Brian Kelly said on Sunday that Wimbush won’t have any restrictions. Wake Forest is a solid team but hopefully Wimbush’s legs will not be needed much this weekend in order for the Irish to keep their winning streak in tact. A few early scores and a short afternoon for Wimbush this weekend sure would be nice.
- Alize Mack – It was pretty clear that Mack was likely concussed after he banged his head trying to come up with a catch near the NC State sideline. Mack didn’t return and is now in the concussion protocol. Notre Dame tends to be pretty conservative with concussion protocols so I would be surprised to see him in action this weekend.
- Nyles Morgan – He’s been battling through a chronic shoulder injury Kelly revealed on Sunday. He left the NC State game briefly after colliding with Greer Martini on the sideline. With the emergence of Tevon Coney and Martini’s return this week, Notre Dame might be wise to do a little more rotating here this weekend to keep Morgan healthy for the final stretch.
- Jonathan Bonner – Notre Dame’s starting DT sprained his ankle against NC State. Luckily x-rays were negative and it isn’t a high ankle sprain. Kelly said he will be a go for Wake Forest but ankle sprains are tough for big guys so we’ll see how much it impacts him. Look for Lord Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa to get some more playing time this week regardless.
- Tony Jones – The sophomore running back has been battling ankle problems all season long. This week a hip pointer limited him.
The Wimbush news is huge. While he return to the game there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t experience additional pain or discomfort after resting it after the game. In fact, I still remember a game from a decade or so ago when it looked like Donovan McNabb just rolled his ankle against the Cardinals but still finished the game. The next day it was revealed he actually broke a bone in his foot and he missed four games.
We’ll see how accurate Kelly’s updates were come Saturday. We know he, like all college coaches, have no real reason to be totally forth coming with injury updates unlike their NFL counterparts. Assuming Notre Dame has Wimbush and Morgan in the lineup, they could be wise to rest Bonner some. After Josh Adams notched a career high in carries, it sure would be nice to have Jones this weekend though so that they can get Adams out of the game early – after he rips off his weekly 70 yard touchdown run that is.
I hate to hear that Mack got hurt and all but he has been a total bust this year after having some really high expectations to be the next great tight end out of ND. It seems like Mack has been getting the bulk of passes thrown to the TEs out of all of them. Hopefully Smythe will now get a lot more passes thrown his way. I think Smythe might be a lot better than we all thought he was. He certainly is catching EVERYTHING thrown his way this year. I don’t think I’ve seen him drop one single pass yet. This is completely opposite to Mack who probably has more drops than catches. That was a crucial third down play where Wimbush threw a perfect strike right in Mack’s belly and he dropped it. Instead of a 1st there, we punt. I don’t think Smythe drops that pass. If they have been using Smythe more as the blocker and Mack more as the receiver, I say flip flop those roles once Mack gets back.
Sounds like Book will get more relief duty. Couldn’t come at a better time.