SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — No. 21 Notre Dame got encouraging news about injured quarterback Brandon Wimbush, who was expected to run in practice Wednesday after suffering a Grade 1 strain of his right foot.
Wimbush, whose foot was placed in a walking boot hours after he led Notre Dame to a 52-17 victory over Miami (Ohio) last Saturday, did some light work Tuesday. Sophomore Ian Book got most of the snaps with the No. 1 unit in preparation for Saturday’s game at North Carolina (1-4).
“He (Wimbush) was fully engaged in all of our game plan, meetings,” coach Brian Kelly said. “He was out on the field. He did some light throwing, some core exercises. We had him bike. And then he was part of the signaling of all the plays. He’s mentally ready to go.”
Kelly said that Wimbush wore the walking boot and used crutches in going to class this week.
“We let him use it today (Wednesday) to go to class because he’s walking around campus and we don’t want any stress on the foot,” he said. “He doesn’t need it because of the pain or anything like that. He felt awkward in the boot. The boot should be off today.”
Book has seen limited action this season mostly in mop-up roles for the Irish, who have won three straight after a 20-19 loss to Georgia. Kelly said he is confident in Book taking over if Wimbush has any setbacks.
“It’s not a one-man show here,” Kelly said. “One player is not going to change how we go about and do our work. Brandon had a good day yesterday. We expect him to continue to progress. If he can’t, Ian Book will be ready to play and run our offense, and we’ve got 10 other players around him that will be ready to help him.”