Sept. 24--Drue Tranquill didn't act like he'd been there before, which landed him -- awkwardly, unexpectedly and, for Notre Dame, unfortunately -- where he'd been before.
For the second year in a row, the sophomore safety's season came to a crashing halt Saturday with a torn ACL.
Tranquill crumpled in agony near the end zone, gripping his right knee after celebrating a pass breakup with teammate Joe Schmidt late in the second quarter of the Irish's 30-22 victory against Georgia Tech.
When he came back to earth after bouncing off Schmidt, Tranquill, who missed the final two games of last season after tearing his left ACL, quickly realized what had happened.
"I hardly ever celebrate after plays, but that was a really great play and he was really excited," a somber Schmidt said. "So I got really excited. Things happen. You can't tell people to stop celebrating on plays."
And Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly hasn't.
"I haven't said a word to them about it," he said. "They all knew it happened. They all heard about it, saw it. ... We have guys crying in the locker room because they lost one of their players. I don't need to remind them about safety and how important it is."
It couldn't hurt, though.
Tranquill became the sixth starter on the nation's sixth-ranked team whose season has ended prematurely because of injury. That list includes quarterback Malik Zaire (broken ankle), running back Tarean Folston (ACL) and tight end Durham Smythe (ACL), all lost in the first two games, and defensive tackle Jarron Jones (MCL) and cornerback Shaun Crawford (ACL), both injured in camp.
During this mission, that's impossible to ignore. The Irish envision themselves playing for a national championship. Still do, what's left of them. So that list can't go on.
Tranquill's injury was a fluke -- bad luck of the Irish. Could have happened to anyone. That it occurred at the conclusion of a play to be celebrated proved coincidence can be cruel.
And avoidable.
Players can't reasonably be expected to completely temper their emotions while playing a game that depends so much on emotion.
But with season-ending injuries piling up at double the rate of victories, Notre Dame ill can afford or absorb much more pain. Kelly himself said the Irish can't lose any more players at key positions without beginning to lose their identity.
After that, likely, would be losses on the field.
"There is a break point. You start getting into true freshmen, and that will be obviously a significant change in what we look like," Kelly said. "We are still at a point where we have guys that can step in, but there's no question we have to be able to stem the tide with these injuries."
One way to do that is to consider saving future celebrations for a more worthy occasion, such as the College Football Playoff.
Senior defensive lineman Sheldon Day said he learned that lesson, albeit with far less consequence, during his freshman season when he got a little too excited after a play.
"I'm out of that business," he said. "That was my last time celebrating."
Like Schmidt, though, fellow captain Matthias Farley doesn't see it stopping altogether.
"It adds so much to the game and it creates so much energy to everyone else on the sideline or on the field with you," he said. "I guess the biggest question guys have when things like that happen is why."
And how.
"What do you say about a kid that gets up and chest bumps and doesn't turn his ankle, but he tears his ACL?" Kelly said.
Bad luck. Avoidable luck.
"I don't know what to say anymore," Kelly said.
Except "next man in."
pskrbina@tribpub.com
