SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Sophomore tight end Tyler Luatua was cleared for contact Tuesday after missing Notre Dame’s last two games with a concussion.
Luatua’s return gives Notre Dame a key piece of its tight end depth chart back. The California native hasn’t caught a pass since coming to South Bend, but has carved out a role as a physical, downhill blocker within the Irish offense.
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Coach Brian Kelly said sophomore left guard Quenton Nelson, who suffered a sprained ankle Saturday at Clemson, was put in a walking boot but has “improved dramatically” over the last few days. The walking boot will be removed Wednesday and he’ll start running with an eye on playing Saturday against Navy.
“We feel pretty confident that we can get him back,” Kelly said, “but we’ll see how he responds tomorrow.”
If Nelson is unable to go, redshirt freshman Alex Bars — who Kelly said played well in place of Nelson at Clemson — will fill in at left guard.
Safety Max Redfield will start against Navy, Kelly said, after being benched against Georgia Tech’s triple option Sept. 19. A broken thumb limited Redfield’s ability to tackle, so Notre Dame turned to sophomore Drue Tranquill — who tore his ACL in the second quarter — and graduate student Matthias Farley in a 30-22 win over the Yellow Jackets.
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Redfield led Notre Dame with 14 tackles against Clemson in what Kelly deemed the best game of the junior safety’s career.
“We didn't feel like we could play him (against Georgia Tech),” Kelly said Sunday. “And then we're trying to round him back into play, and then this past weekend probably played his best game since he's been here at Notre Dame. So, you know, there's a standard for him now on film for how he can play this game and hopefully we can continue on this track. Now we've got the film to show it against a very good competition against very good athletes, we can show him the kind of play that he's capable of.”