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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are in desperate need of quality snaps along their defensive line in 2017. That goal gets a bit tougher now as junior defensive tackle, Elijah Taylor, suffered a Lisfranc injury in the second practice of the spring season.
DT Elijah Taylor was stepped on in practice, suffered a lisfranc injury. He already had surgery, should be full-go by July.
— Mike Vorel (@mikevorel) March 22, 2017
Head coach Brian Kelly said that Taylor should be back in July, but this is a huge setback for Taylor. Spring is a critical time for players like Taylor- players that some experience, but will be called upon in the season for a lot more work.
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Although Daniel Cage seems to be alright and is full go for the spring, we can’t dismiss the amount of injuries he has had over the last few years. Missing in the above chart is Jonathan Bonner who has been moved inside from the defensive end spot. Jerry Tillery has a virtual lock on the other spot, and Micah Dew-Treadway is getting a nice look now and has received some compliments.
Still, the injury to Taylor (a Cincinnati native) only further highlights just how thin the Irish are at defensive tackle in terms of quality and experience. It’s the reason why the recruitment of Clemson transfer, Scott Pagano, is so important to the possible success of the unit, the defense, and the team in 2017.