Brian Kelly Post-Practice: Sept. 22

Here’s a recap of Brian Kelly’s Thursday press conference…

• Sophomore Te’von Coney will start at Will linebacker against Duke. Kelly, though, said junior Greer Martini will also play because of the amount of nickel defense Notre Dame will play.

• Kelly had nothing to report on the injury front. Nobody held out of practice or missed practice post-MSU.

There’s also no lineup changes.

• A decision needs to be made soon on Nick Watkins, who underwent an aggressive procedure in August to stimulate bone growth in his arm. They’re optimistic on bone growth.

Kelly says a decision on Watkins will be made in the next week. Watkins, a junior, hasn't been fully cleared yet. If it’s another two weeks, Kelly said he’ll lean toward not playing Watkins this season.

"We're starting to fight time," Kelly said. "We played him as a freshman and it's probably my fault that we didn't utilize him properly as a freshman. I don't want to do that to the kid again. My point being is, if it's going to take another week or two, do I play him for a half a season and now he's a junior. I have to make that decision in the next week."

• Kelly says running back Justin Brent has “struggled” with his recovery from a Lisfranc injury in his foot. Brent is still hobbled. Not considering playing him. Kelly called Brent a "down the road guy."

• The four arrested players — Coney, Kevin Stepherson, Ashton White and Dexter Williams — had their cases heard and will play this weekend, according to Kelly.

• Kelly said he’s aware of the criticism he receives from fans and that it comes with the territory.

But does he check his Twitter mentions? “Absolutely not."

“I am a 1-2 football coach,” he said. “If I didn’t get criticized we would have a soft fanbase.”