Notre Dame football head athletic trainer Rob Hunt on Jeremiyah Love
Rob Hunt, head athletic trainer for Notre Dame football, on how Jeremiyah Love was able to avoid knee surgery and perform in four postseason games.
SOUTH BEND—When Notre Dame football opens its condensed spring practice period on March 19, redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr should be at full capacity.
That was certainly the hope after the highly rated prospect suffered a throwing elbow injury in practice in late September, but now the arduous process is nearly complete.
Rob Hunt, head athletic trainer for Irish football, shed additional light recently on Carr’s “remarkable” progression through the rest-and-rehab protocol.
“Once we identified the injury, then it was just a structured plan to return him to play,” Hunt said. “Obviously, lack of information for others gives tons of opportunity for speculation. We had a 10- to 12-week return from within the first few days and executed it really well.”
Carr was placed on no-throw status for a while, costing him valuable repetitions with the scout team. In a Dec. 30 interview with the South Bend Tribune ahead of the Sugar Bowl, Carr said he was initially concerned about potential surgery but that an MRI quickly put those fears to rest.
“It’s just a super-slow, intentional process that required very, very detailed and specific things he had to accomplish,” Hunt said. “There was a period of rest, a period of light work and training that then went into a throwing program. I think he was probably more frustrated than anyone else just because he’s so competitive.”
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Listed at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Carr took four snaps without attempting a pass at the end of the Purdue game on Sept. 14.
After his setback, he used the down time to build up his frame in anticipation of a three-way battle for the starting job with fellow holdovers Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey.
“By the first of October we knew that (Carr) wasn’t going to be doing any meaningful team reps until December,” Hunt said. “The advantage for us was that he actually had opportunities in December and January (during the College Football Playoff), when he was clearing through his ‘return to throwing’ program, to actually get some work.”
While Carr missed out on further game action beyond the Purdue blowout, he figures to share first-team practice snaps throughout the 25 days that will culminate with the Blue-Gold Game on April 12.
“It was a good thing,” Hunt said of last fall’s detailed rehab plan, “for us to actually have that runway.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
