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Khalid Kareem Played With Torn Labrum In Final Four Games Of 2019 Season

In the second quarter against Duke Nov. 9, the collegiate career of Notre Dame standout defensive end and senior captain Julian Okwara came to an abrupt and poignant end. After bursting into the Blue Devils’ backfield, he went down with a fractured left fibula that required surgery.

After losing fellow senior defensive end Daelin Hayes earlier in the season, this was a tough blow for the Fighting Irish, but it could have been much worse.

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One quarter later, starting strongside defensive end and fellow captain Khalid Kareem rushed off the edge and reached for Blue Devils quarterback Quentin Harris as the signal-caller stepped up in the pocket. Instead of a sack, Kareem fell on his left shoulder and quickly felt discomfort.

While the injury was troublesome, the pain proved to be manageable, and Kareem played the final three contests of the regular season before getting an MRI after the Stanford game.

The procedure revealed a torn labrum, the same injury that ended Hayes' season. Kareem needed surgery — the sooner the better.

But with his final game just a few weeks away, he talked to his family about the possibility of playing in his final collegiate game, the Camping World Bowl against Iowa State.

His decision? Surgery can wait.

“I know my 60 percent was better than some guys 100 percent,” Kareem said. “I wanted to finish what I started with my guys. I was a captain of the team, and I knew my guys needed me there. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror knowing that I had something left in the tank and I didn't give it to my team.”

He also spoke to former Fighting Irish defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, who suffered a torn labrum against Stanford on Sept. 29, 2018, and also made the decision to play through the pain for the remainder of the regular season.

“The biggest message he said to me was basically, ‘Trust yourself. You know what you can do. You know what you can do on the field. You’re smart. You can make it through this process,’” Kareem said.

On Jan. 21, more than three weeks after Notre Dame's 33-9 victory over Iowa State, Kareem had surgery, forcing him to miss the Senior Bowl four days later, an invitation he accepted before he understood the severity of his injury.

Now, with the exception of Okwara and the bench press, neither of Notre Dame’s star defensive ends will participate in the workout portion of the 2020 NFL Combine, an event that could have helped prove both belong in the top two rounds of the draft.

“It’s a little tough, a little frustrating but I got to trust my process,” Kareem said. “I can’t look at anyone else. I have to keep focusing on my treatment, my recovery and I’ll be good.”

Now, Okwara and Kareem have a target date of April 1 — Notre Dame’s pro day. There, both will be much further along in the recovery and training process. Okwara hopes to be back up to speed and fully participate, while Kareem plans to be close to 100 percent but will avoid all contact drills.

Okwara is already running again and hopes to top 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash — the time he said he ran last spring.

“I know I’m faster than that,” he said. “I definitely want to show that. That’s a time that a lot of guys are expecting out of me.”

As a strongside defensive end, Kareem is about 10 pounds heavier than Okwara and is projected to run the 40-yard dash in 4.79 seconds, at least according to Scott Wright of DraftCountdown.com.

If Kareem can also exceed projections, it will only boost his draft stock, especially after showing off his impressive hand size and wingspan on Wednesday.

For now, the 40-yard dash and other drills will have to wait. Instead, all Okwara and Kareem need to focus on at the NFL Combine is the less than 20-minute interviews they get with teams interested in their services.

This isn’t how either envisioned the NFL Combine process four months ago, but oddly enough it is reassuring for the Fighting Irish defensive ends, classmates and captains that they share a similar experience and can support one another.

“It’s good to have someone to lean on,” Kareem said. “I wouldn’t say we’re frustrated, but we keep each other’s spirits lifted and motivate each other through this long process.”

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