Now that the Notre Dame football team has gotten Leonard Moore back, it's time to sit and wait for defensive back Devonta Smith to return from injury.
During Marcus Freeman's Monday press conference, the Irish head coach delivered a little bit of good injury news and a little bit of bad injury news. At the top of the list of bad news was that Smith is officially out with a calf injury for this weekend's game against North Carolina State.
Notre Dame football issues a mixed bag of injury news
Another piece of less-than-wonderful news is that Notre Dame might be out of its starting kicker for another week. Noah Burnette missed the Boise State contest, and he's questionable against the Wolfpack with a right hip injury. However, the best news to come from the press conference was that Notre Dame upgraded tight end Cooper Flanagan to "questionable" after he was "out" for the first five Irish games.
"He's getting closer," Freeman said about Flanagan. The ND coach added he's been taking more and more reps in practice. He also called the tight end a "weapon," and he's clearly excited about getting to use him. If not against North Carolina State, then in a game coming up soon.
Meanwhile, Smith, like Moore, has played less this season than anyone would have liked. He played 37 snaps against Miami but injuries caused him to miss the game against Texas A&M and Purdue. He then played just 20 snaps against Arkansas and only 7 snaps against Boise State before suffering the hip injury.
Smith came over to the Notre Dame football program via the transfer portal this winter from Alabama. He's expected to be the top nickel back if he can get and then stay healthy at some point in 2025.