No. 5 Notre Dame is hopeful of having senior running back C.J. Prosise back in the mix Saturday when it hosts Wake Forest on Senior Day, head coach Brian Kelly said.
“He's going through the concussion protocol,” Kelly said. “He landed on his shoulder and kind of whiplashed his neck. He got down to the ground and a player landed on him.
“He was better today. He’ll go through a physical conditioning tomorrow. If he obviously passes that, then we’ll move to the next stage. But we’re hopeful that if he takes the steps necessary, we’ll have him back out on the practice field this week.”
Prosise, who left the game at the end of the first quarter with the injury, had started the game brightly, gaining 57 all-purpose yards, including Notre Dame’s first 29 of the contest.
The senior running back is just 25 yards shy of reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the season and has been involved in the receiving game as well, notching 291 yards through the air on 25 receptions. After scoring at least one touchdown in six consecutive games, Prosise has now failed to score in consecutive games, struggling against Temple on Oct. 31 and exiting after just five carries and two targets Saturday.
In Prosise’s absence, freshman running back Josh Adams shouldered most of the carries Saturday, racking up 147 yards on 20 touches and adding a receiving touchdown on a sweep pass in the fourth quarter.
If Prosise is unable to go Saturday, Adams would likely become Notre Dame’s third starting running back of the year, after junior Tarean Folston tore his ACL in the season opener against Texas on Sept. 5.
Kelly said even if Prosise can play, he expects Adams to get a higher volume of carries against the Demon Deacons.
