Notre Dame football injury update: Will Jarrett Patterson play against Ohio State?
The Jarrett Patterson injury saga continues. Some 55 hours or so before No. 5 Notre Dame kicks off against No. 2 Ohio State in primetime Saturday night, Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman was asked about the injury status of his starting left guard.
The fifth-year graduate senior sprained his right foot two weeks ago. He has progressed from a hard cast and a scooter to a walking boot to limited reps in practices in the time since then. But he remains a rather large question mark for Notre Dame’s season opener.
“He didn’t do the entire practice the past two days, but he did some of practice,” Freeman said. “He got some scout team reps and did a couple team reps. He’s still questionable. We still have a good amount of time before Saturday evening.”
Freeman said Patterson would be reevaluated after Thursday’s practice and again on Friday. It’s sounding as if Patterson will be the definition of a game-time decision.
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Notre Dame has other players who were hampered in some form or another during fall camp who have much better outlooks for Saturday. Wide receivers Deion Colzie and Joe Wilkins Jr. and running back Logan Diggs should all be full participants. Colzie sprained his knee in camp. Wilkins Jr. is working back from a fractured foot suffered in March. Diggs had shoulder surgery on a torn labrum in April.
They’ve all healed on expedited timelines and are ready to contribute.
“All three will be in a position to play for us and go out there and compete,” Freeman said. “We’re not going to put them on the field if we don’t feel like they’re ready to help us and ready to play a game. We feel all three of those guys are ready to go help us and ready to compete on Saturday. There are some live reps they probably missed during camp, but there is no hesitation in my mind and the position coaches’ minds to play those guys.”
That means Notre Dame will be at full strength if Patterson is able to play. If he’s not, look for sophomore Rocco Spindler or senior Andrew Kristofic to start in his stead. Spindler has been on the rise, and Kristofic started seven games at left guard last fall. Neither is a pushover as a backup plan.
