Quick-Hitters: Brian Kelly Updates Kyle Hamilton’s Status, Other Notes
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly delivered good news on Kyle Hamilton’s injury in his weekly Monday media availability.
Hamilton is in a walking boot, Kelly said, after he suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter of Saturday's 27-13 win over Duke.
“He had a scan that came back clean," Kelly said. "We’ll keep him in a walking boot until Wednesday. Our team doctors and orthopedic guys feel like he’s day-to-day. This is a matter of pain management and how he feels. We’ll get him out of the boot mid-week, start moving him around and see how he feels.
"You know Kyle, he wants to play Saturday. We’re not going to rule him out. We’re going to let him dictate where we go.”
Kelly also said wide receiver Bennett Skowronek is likely out to due to a hamstring injury suffered in the second quarter last week.
Notre Dame announced two positive COVID-19 tests Monday out of 419 conducted in the the prior week and two other players in quarantine due to contact tracing. None of them played in Saturday's game.
Here are some of the other topics Kelly addressed.
On Wide Receiver Braden Lenzy’s Hamstring Injury
“He should be almost to 100 percent on Tuesday. You can’t take a guy like Braden Lenzy who’s a speed guy and not have him be 100 percent healthy.”
On The Defensive Depth
"We played 11 defensive linemen and four linebackers. We have to play more guys on the back end of the defense. That’s the directive and the goal. We’ll achieve that this weekend. But in itself getting that many guys in the rotation allows us to develop our football team."
On The Prevalence Of Screens In The Offense
“We would like to see that as a staple in terms of what we do. Whether it be the perimeter screens or slow screens, we think that’s something with our offensive line, their ability to move and Ian Book’s experience. We believe we have some receivers with savvy that can take that screen and turn it into a big play.”
On His Contract Extension
“I’ve been very fortunate and blessed the university has given that trust in me to continue to lead this program…I take that quite seriously. When we discussed this, I needed to have the energy, enthusiasm and want-to to continue to lead this program and feel like there was more to accomplish, which I do. All those things had to align.”
On Featuring Sophomore Running Back Kyren Williams
“He has shown himself to have the ability in terms of the numbers he produced that he adds a dimension to our offense that makes us a better offense. We’re going to see him play a large role."
“You also saw a Jafar Armstrong who can catch it and play physical. I know everyone saw the explosiveness of Chris Tyree. We didn’t see C’Bo Flemister, who arguably had as good a preseason as any of our backs. He’s coming back from a collarbone injury and I think he’ll be 100 percent this week.”
On Freshman Wide Receiver Jordan Johnson
“Physically he’s coming along quite well. He’s still finding himself as a student-athlete here. There’s a lot on his plate. He’s getting better. He had a really good week last week with his traits. We saw some progress there.
This isn’t just about football. He has football talent. We have to continue to work on his attention to detail, his focus. We’re getting better there. As those traits continue to develop, there are good things down the road for Jordan.”
On Freshman Tight End Michael Mayer’s Debut
“He has great potential. He’s still a freshman and there’s a learning curve there, but his athletic ability is pretty evident. He showed that in the way he catches the ball – soft hands, puts the ball away, can run after the catch and shake a tackle or two. It’s going to be fun to watch his growth and development.
"Obviously, there are things in the running game. He got knocked down a couple times. He got matched up in the passing game a couple times against (Duke defensive end Chris) Rumph.”
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