Brandon Wimbush Injury Update: 10/4

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly gave a Wednesday update on quarterback Brandon Wimbush, and it sounds promising for the long-term. 

“He's got a grade 1 strain, so he really doesn't need the crutches,” Kelly said when asked about Wimbush still using crutches on Tuesday afternoon. “I think he was using them because of the boot is a little awkward for them. I don't know if you know anything about the boot, but it rolls, and the crutches are really just that, a crutch for him. He doesn't need it because of the pain or anything like that. He felt awkward in the boot. The boot should be off today. We let him use it today to go to class because he's walking around campus, and we don't want any stress on the foot.

“But again, last night our orthopedic surgeon met with him last night, showed him again the MRI, grade 1, and he's cleared to run for today.” 

Wimbush didn’t do a ton of work during Tuesday’s practice as Kelly hinted at during his press conference earlier in the day.

“He was fully engaged in all of our game plan, meetings,” explained Kelly. “He was out on the field. We did some light throwing, some core exercises. We had him on the bike. And then he was part of the signaling of all the plays.

“He's mentally ready to go. He'll move around today, and I think we've got plenty of time to get him ready. Yeah, it was a good day, and we expect more progress today.”

Kelly also spoke about the potential that Wimbush wouldn’t be ready to play on Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Ian Book has gotten snaps this season, but it’s more than just the quarterback that makes the Irish offense run. 

“It's not a one-man show here,” said Kelly. “This football team is built for the next person that steps up. It's a next-man-in philosophy here. One player is not going to change how we go about and do our work. Brandon had a good day yesterday. We expect him to continue to progress. 

"But if he can't, Ian Book will be ready to play and run our offense, and we've got ten other players around him that will be ready to help him, as well."