Notre Dame is down a defensive lineman.
Junior defensive tackle Elijah Taylor suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot, an injury that will sideline him until July, head coach Brian Kelly said Wednesday after practice.
The injured occurred during practice March 10, prior to the team leaving for spring break. Kelly said Taylor’s foot was stepped on during a drill.
The 6-3, 280-pound Taylor was in the mix at the three-technique defensive tackle position, competing with senior Jonathan Bonner and junior Micah Dew-Treadway.
Taylor, who was seen at practice Wednesday morning on crutches and with his foot wrapped, has already undergone surgery, done by Dr. Brian L. Ratigan.
Kelly said the Cincinnati native will be able to train around the injury in the meantime. The head coach hopes Taylor will be fully cleared sometime in July.
Taylor redshirted as a freshman in 2015. Last season he played 31 snaps, including a season-high 14 in the finale at Southern Cal. He finished the year with three total tackles and one tackle for loss.
In his absence, Kelly is looking for Dew-Treadway to step up. The 6-4, 299-pounder missed all of last season with a Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his foot.
“Micah Dew-Treadway has had a really good offseason for us,” Kelly said. “Changed his body, has been doing a really, really good job in all facets. In the classroom, in the weight room. He’s somebody that had been ascending anyway prior to the injury.”
Senior Brandon Tiassum is also a candidate for a larger role with Taylor out, Kelly said.
“Brandon Tiassum is going to have to get better and he has been,” Kelly said. “Those two guys in particular [Dew-Treadway and Tiassum] will continue to get some more work, but Micah has shown some real promise here over the past couple of months.”
Notre Dame has experience with Lisfranc injuries. Defensive lineman Jarron Jones suffered the injury at the end of the 2014 season. Running back Justin Brent missed all of 2016 with the injury. Offensive lineman Braxton Cave had the injury late in the 2011 season and returned for spring ball in 2012.
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_CoachD,
@BGI_MattJones, @BGI_DMcKinney and @BGI_CoreyBodden.
• Like us on Facebook.
