Notre Dame loses freshman DB Shaun Crawford to torn ACL

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Notre Dame coaches and players praised freshman defensive back Shaun Crawford on Tuesday for his work during preseason camp, which had him in position to play in a nickel role during his first year on campus.

Crawford, though, won't get that chance after he tore his ACL during practice Wednesday morning and will miss the 2015 season, coach Brian Kelly announced.

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A four-star recruit from Lakewood, Ohio, Crawford and fellow freshman Nick Coleman saw plenty of first-team nickel reps during practice this month. The success the pair of first-year players had there allowed graduate student Matthias Farley to float back to a reserve role at safety, where he started for Notre Dame during its 2012 run to the BCS Championship.

“Shuan’s incredible,” Farley said. “He’s so fast and quick, and always around the ball which’ll be exciting to watch.”

Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder similarly was impressed by the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Crawford’s skills before his injury.

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“He’s got the short area quickness that you want from a nickel and he runs out well too,” VanGorder said. “But being intelligent with that position and short area quickness have always been the real requested traits of playing nickel. Shaun’s a guy that seems to have a very good natural instinct to the game and understanding of it.”

Without Crawford, Farley could be a candidate to move back to nickel while Coleman, a three-star recruit, should still play there as well.

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