Notre Dame senior defensive back KeiVarae Russell will miss this week’s game against Stanford as he recovers from surgery for a broken tibia. The injury, which occurred during Notre Dame’s Shamrock Series victory in Boston against Boston College, will keep Russell out of action for the next six to eight weeks.
KeiVarae Russell fractured his tibia last night. Will have a rod put in via surgery tonight. #NotreDame
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) November 22, 2015
If you take a look at the calendar and do the math (don’t worry, I’ll do it for you right now), six weeks from today is January 3, 2016. Eight weeks is January 17, 2016. This would appear to have Russell out of action for the remainder of the year, including Notre Dame’s still-to-be-decided postseason, but it is still too early to suggest Russell will not see the field again just yet. If he happens to be available in six weeks, then he would have a chance to play in final game for the Irish, IF Notre Dame ends up playing in the College Football Playoff national championship game. That would be quite the story for the senior.
Russell was among the handful of Notre Dame players suspended last year as the university opened an internal investigation regarding academic integrity. Russell expressed his frustrations with the process as he had to continue to wait for the investigation to wrap up before being eligible to play again. He eventually had to sit out the entire 2014 season but returned to the Irish this season. Russell leads the Irish with two interceptions this season and he is second on the team in tackles, trailing only Jaylon Smith.
The injury news for Russell was not the only tidbit shared by head coach Brian Kelly Sunday. Kelly also noted running back C.J. Prosise will be doubtful for this weekend’s game at Stanford due to a high ankle sprain. Prosise leads Notre Dame with 1,029 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, including 54 rushing yards against Boston College. That would be a big loss for the Irish as they head on the road for the final game of the season, and the final opportunity to impress the College Football Playoff selection committee as conference championship week is played next week. Stanford has held three of their last four opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards (Oregon rushed for 231 yards).