Notre Dame Football: Breaking down Cole Kmet and Michael Young’s injuries

For the Notre Dame football team, when two of your offense’s better players go down with the same injury just a few days apart, it’s pretty notable.

If you haven’t already heard, the No.1 starting TE and No.3 WR for Notre Dame football have both gone down with broken collarbones in the last two weeks.

Not good.

Of course there are worse injuries, but anytime two of your starters go down with the exact same injuries just days apart, it’s notable.

It’s not entirely uncommon for athletes on a football team to pick up the same injury in preseason ball or summer camp, but it is almost always a knee injury such as an ACL tear.

Thankfully, Notre Dame’s 2019 schedule doesn’t start off nearly as rough as 2018’s, where Michigan came to town Week 1.

The Irish go to Louisville, then have New Mexico at home before heading to Athens for a star-studded, prime-time matchup with Georgia.

Junior tight end Cole Kmet suffered his collarbone break on August 8, when he leaped for a ball and came down with it for a touchdown, but not after hard-hitting safety Alohi Gilman came crashing down into Kmet and left him hobbled.

Kmet’s initial prognosis was immediate surgery — which included a plate and six screws — and anywhere from a 4-10 week recovery time. However, just a few days ago at a practice, the media was able to watch Kmet — with gloves on — catching footballs at nearly full range.

Head coach Brian Kelly spoke in a recent interview about how Kmet is a ‘fast-healer’ but even this is outstanding for a fast-healer. Kmet really should be in a sling still, but absolutely no one is going to complain if the star tight end is already feeling good enough to be catching passes.

It seems (emphasis on the seems) as if Kmet could be back in time to play against New Mexico, even if it is just for a few drives.

Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Chip Long will be in no hurry to bring Kmet back, as Louisville and New Mexico are far from Notre Dame’s best opponents this season. However, you’d hate to see Kmet making his first appearance of the season against Georgia.

Ideally, he’d already be in midseason form by the time the Irish travel to Athens, as they will need all the help they can get.

Filling in for Kmet in his absence will be junior Brock Wright. Wright is very inexperienced as a pass catcher at Notre Dame, with just two catches for 12 yards and a touchdown to his name. Tommy Tremble is also a name that could feature in the first few weeks and make a name for himself, as Chip Long has made a point of getting the tight end more involved in the passing game.

Junior wide receiver Michael Young’s collarbone break is considered more severe than Cole Kmet’s and was suffered more recently. Young broke his during practice this past Saturday, August 17.

Young’s prognosis is similar to Kmet’s — as they each had nearly the same surgery — but Young is not known for being as good of a healer as Kmet.

Young has had an injury-ridden career at Notre Dame and this just adds to the list.

He was having a great camp up until the time of his injury and was slated to be a starting receiver and potential impact player for the Irish this season. Not to say he won’t later on in the season, but it may take some time for Young to get back to 100 percent.

In his absence, Chris Finke moved to the outside receiver from his slot position to take reps. Sophomore Lawrence Keys took reps at the slot, where — when everyone is healthy — Keys will backup Finke.

It is reasonable to expect both to be in action for the Irish again by Week 6 when the Irish host USC.