Notre Dame enters preseason camp with a clean bill of health

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame will head to Culver, Ind. to begin preseason camp Friday without any players having major health restrictions.

Coach Brian Kelly said Thursday seven players who had surgery last year or in the offseason will be able to fully participate during August practices:

— Graduate student linebacker Joe Schmidt (ankle) is “fully recovered” from his devastating injury suffered Nov. 1 against Navy. Schmidt was held out of drills during spring practice but has been able to bench over 400 pounds in the summer, Kelly said.

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— Graduate student linebacker Jarrett Grace (leg) hasn’t had any setbacks since he participated in spring practice earlier this year. Kelly said the Cincinnati native is continuing to regain all of his power in his leg, which he broke in October 2013 against Arizona State, and added “he's going to be a guy that makes an impact for us right away against Texas.”

— Senior safety Nicky Baratti (shoulder) has progressed nicely since re-injuring his shoulder last September and will have no restrictions when camp begins.

— Senior nose guard Jarron Jones (foot) will practice eight months after having Lisfranc surgery, the same procedure former Irish center Braxston Cave had in 2011 before returning to play all 13 games in 2012.

— Junior outside linebacker James Onwualu (wrist) will wear a splint after undergoing surgery in January but will not have any limitations in practice.

— Sophomore safety Drue Tranquill (knee) has “attacked rehab like no other player that we've had here in quite some time,” Kelly said, and will be a full participant in practice after tearing his ACL last November.

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— Sophomore defensive end Jonathan Bonner (turf toe) is a full go for fall camp.

Earlier this week, Notre Dame announced medical redshirts for tight end Mike Heuerman and linebacker Michael Deeb. Heuerman's Irish career ended due to hernias that Kelly said prevented him from weight training and exerting any force against the ground; while Deeb was unable to recover from a nerve issue that forced him to have reconstructive elbow surgery. 

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