Sixth year an option for injured Notre Dame S Avery Sebastian

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame graduate transfer safety Avery Sebastian, who broke a bone in his foot in Week 1 against Texas, remains a few weeks away from a possible return to the field, though his Irish career could extend into 2016.

Coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday Sebastian, who transferred from Cal to Notre Dame as a graduate student earlier this year, hasn’t seen the kind of bone growth in his foot necessary for him to return to practice. Sebastian was initially given a four-to-six-week timetable upon suffering his injury Sept. 5.

“He's been on a stimulator for bone growth,” Kelly said. “It just has not comeback to the level that most do.”

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In the short term, Notre Dame has been able to survive without Sebastian as a depth guy at the safety position. Behind junior Max Redfield, senior Elijah Shumate and graduate student Matthias Farley is precariously thin depth, though, with Sebastian and sophomore Drue Tranquill (torn ACL) sidelined. But Sebastian’s eligibility to play a sixth year — he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 in 2013 with Cal and missed five games in 2014 — could be a nice boost for next year.

Shumate and Farley are playing their final years of eligibility at Notre Dame this fall, while Redfield will be eligible to enter the NFL Draft after this season. Sebastian is more of a strong safety, so he could replace Shumate in Notre Dame’s starting lineup and also give that unit some important experience in 2016.

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But whether or not Sebastian is held back for another year will be determined by how well his recovery progresses over the next few weeks.

“We’ll have to see what he's capable of doing for us over the next couple of weeks,” Kelly said. “But it's just been a difficult injury in the sense that it usually heals up quickly but that he hasn't had the bone growth necessary.”

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