Irish confirm injury to star LB ‘significant’ … Updating the story on Notre Dame junior LB Jaylon Smith, a top 10 prospect who some teams actually have rated as the best player overall in the 2016 draft class, who had to be helped off the field with a potentially nasty knee injury during the Irish’s loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. There is still no final diagnosis, but after the game Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly confirmed that the knee injury suffered by Smith was ‘significant’. And that usually means an ACL and surgery. Smith, this year’s winner of the Butkus Award given annually to the top defensive player in the country, had been expected to declare for the draft after the game, but may have to reconsider if the injury is worse than initially feared. Meanwhile, Ohio State junior DE Joey Bosa, another ossibility to go first overall this coming April, was ejected from today’s game after drawing a targeting penalty for this first-quarter hit on Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer.
