Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Fighting Irish DT Jones out for season with torn MCL

Published Aug. 15, 2015 11:06 a.m. ET

foxsports

With Everett Golson now in Tallahassee ready to begin his new life as a Florida State Seminole, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were finally ready for a new beginning.

Malik Zaire has been hyped up and talked up as being ready to carry Notre Dame’s offense and fully erase the memory of Golson and a failed national championship run. But it’s going to be difficult for Zaire to maximize his effort if the defense doesn’t do its part when he’s off the field.

On Saturday, Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly confirmed initial reports from Friday that starting defensive tackle Jarron Jones is out for the 2015 season after seriously injuring his right knee at practice, tearing his MCL. Kelly says Jones was hurt during an 11-on-11 drill in practice when a teammate rolled up on his leg.

Jones, who watched practice Saturday with a brace on his knee, was projected to anchor the middle of the defensive line. He started 11 games last season until a foot injury and made 40 tackles, including 7.5 for loss. He also blocked two kicks.

Kelly said Jones will undergo surgery in the next few days.

The redshirt junior's 2014 season ended with a Lisfranc injury in his foot suffered in a Nov. 22 loss to Louisville.

I know the saying “man down, man up” comes to mind, but that’s going to be a big loss for Notre Dame.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More from Gamedayr: