CJ Prosise Injury Update: Return Next Week Likely?
As Brian Kelly walked off the field at Heinz Field following his team’s 42-30 victory over Pitt, ABC/ESPN’s Todd McShay asked the Notre Dame head coach about the status of his star running back who was injured earlier in the day. Kelly’s response indicates that a return next week could very well be likely.
He got hit when he went down on his shoulder – hit the field, it wasn’t necessarily a contact hit. He’s day to day. It doesn’t look like a serious injury so we think we’ll get him back next week,” Kelly said before trotting off the field.
And that sound you just heard was a collective sigh of relief from Notre Dame fans everywhere.
Prosise left Saturday’s game in the first quarter after converting a 3rd and 1. Irish Illustrated reported that Prosise might have suffered a concussion and a shoulder injury, but Kelly did not make any mention of a concussion on the field to McShay.
Freshman Josh Adams filled in for Prosise and didn’t miss much of a beat with a career high 147 yards on 20 carries to go along with a receiving touchdown. Fellow freshman Dexter Williams saw just three carries on the day even with Prosise out for more than three quarters of the game.
If Notre Dame is indeed able to get Prosise back next week, the Irish should consider themselves very lucky. Notre Dame can ill afford to lose Prosise for any extended period of time with the season ending showdown with Stanford looming following contests with Wake Forest and Boston College the next two weeks.
That said, expect Brian Kelly and Notre Dame to be extremely cautious with Prosise. Kelly knows just how important Prosise is this team – he put a red jersey on Prosise in practice just a few weeks ago to save hits on him. Wake Forest will come to town next week with a poor defense and will almost certainly be a double digit underdog. Translation? Don’t be surprised to see Prosise sit next week out even if Notre Dame does have him back and available.
Expect there to be more on Prosise’s injury later today and tomorrow once Notre Dame is able to get back to campus and fully evaluate his status. For now at least though, it looks like Notre Dame has finally got some good news on the injury front for once this year.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
You guys want to sit him for two weeks to be ready for Stanford? Come on man!
His health comes first. After that, there’s no reason to take away the game speed he’s gotten used to, or create rust from a 3 week absence.
As for determining if he plays this weekend based on draft status – you need to put down Fam Duel man. The decisions these guys make aren’t based on probability stats of the draft – or returning for a 5th year.
They (coaches and players), are focused on one game. And they play to win that game.
The only way I play Prosise is if I think that he’s heading to the drat and this will be his final home game. If he’s coming back, or you think that he’s coming back, he sits. No need to play against Wake. Heck, he could sit against BC too. We need him ready to roll at The Farm vs Stanford.
Even if he can go next week I still say you sit him. Kelly needs to make sure Prosise is ready to roll versus Stanford. You cant look over Wake and BC but we should be able to beat them without CJ. Josh Adams can hold his own as he showed today.