Durham Smythe Injury: Updates on Notre Dame TE's Recovery from Knee Surgery

Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Durham Smythe will reportedly miss the rest of the 2015 season because of knee and shoulder injuries.

Continue for updates.

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Report: Smythe Hurt Shoulder vs. Texas, Knee in Virgina Game

Monday, Sept. 14

Pete Sampson of Scout.com passed along the discouraging news regarding Smythe, indicating he'll likely schedule surgeries this week.

Smythe's injuries mark another crushing loss for Notre Dame's offense. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has spoken of his desire to feature tight ends in the passing game more often as the year goes on.

"I think it's really how the game has gone thus far and how we're being defended in particular," Kelly said about his tight ends' lack of involvement to date, per Sampson. "I think a lot of the catches have happened on the perimeter, and so they haven't gotten as many opportunities. But I think you'll see that it will balance itself off as the season kind of progresses."

The Irish already lost starting quarterback Malik Zaire for the year after he suffered a broken right ankle Saturday in the team's 34-27 road win over Virginia. In the season opener, running back Tarean Folston tore his ACL.

Chris Goff of the Journal Gazette weighed in on what Smythe's impending absence means for the rotation at his position:

As a junior, Smythe is the most experienced tight end on Notre Dame's depth chart and had a seven-yard touchdown reception against the Cavaliers. The best fill-in candidates appear to be Tyler Luatua and Aliz'e Jones.

Luatua is a big-bodied, versatile player who's capable of playing H-back and fullback. He was a 4-star recruit in the 2014 class, rated by 247Sports as the ninth-best tight end. It stands to reason that Luatua can step up and contribute in a big way.

But Jones was even more highly touted coming out of high school, regarded by 247Sports as the No. 1 tight end in the 2015 class. Considering the key absences Notre Dame is dealing with, it would behoove the Irish to explore integrating both Luatua and Jones into the game plan moving forward.