A broken bone in his foot kept Devin Butler (pictured, No. 12) from playing in Notre Dame’s Fiesta Bowl matchup with Ohio State to end the 2015 season. A reoccurrence of the same injury now cast doubts on not only the start of the 2016 season, but on the season as a whole.
Head coach Brian Kelly confirmed Monday that suffered a re-fracture of the same left foot not long ago. As a result, the cornerback will be sidelined for a period of 14-16 weeks. At the long end of that projection, Butler would return in early October, which would mean he’d miss the first five games of the season (Texas, Nevada, Michigan State, Duke, Syracuse).
Already, there’s talk that Butler, a senior who still has a redshirt at his disposal, could opt to sit out the 2016 season as he heals and return for the 2017 season.
Regardless, it’s a significant blow for both the player and the program.
“It’s tough,” Kelly said at a golf outing by way ndinsider.com. “(He’s) a guy that’s struggled both in his life and in football.
“He had a great semester academically. We really see him trending in the right way. And then to have an injury like that was very disappointing for him. And we’re disappointed for him.”
Butler had played in 37 games his first three seasons with the Irish. He started two games in 2014 and the regular-season finale in 2015. He was projected as a starting corner exiting the spring.