If the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are fortunate enough to end the year in the College Football Playoff, they could have a key member of the defense back on the field just in time. Defensive tackle Jarron Jones, who was previously thought to be done for the season, could be back for any postseason game, or games, Notre Dame plays at the end of the season.
On Tuesday, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly announced Jones is still probably four to six weeks away from playing football, as reported by Keith Arnold of Inside the Irish. That timeline would have Jones back in time for any bowl game Notre Dame will be playing.
Jones tore his MCL prior to the start of the college football season. He went in for surgery before the start of the season, which led Kelly to announce Jones was to miss the entire 2015 season. The timeline mapped out by Kelly reaffirms Jones will not be available for any of Notre Dame’s final regular season games against Wake Forest, Boston College or Stanford, but clearly leaves the door wide open for a postseason game. Jones had his 2014 season end early as well due to a foot injury. Jones was Notre Dame’s second-leading tackler in 2014 with 7.5 tackles for a loss.