Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen walked into the interview room with no limp and wearing street shoes alongside center Eric Olsen on Wednesday for the offensive captains' news conference.
Of course, the first question tossed at Clausen was about his turf toe.
Clausen said he felt fine and was scheduled to practice some Wednesday and more on Thursday as the Irish (2-1) get ready to play Purdue (1-2) at 8 p.m. Saturday on the road.
Clausen said he didn't know how long it would be before he didn't feel any pain because of his toe, and he as gotten used to the device in his shoe to help the healing process.
"It is just real ridged so your toe doesn't bend too much and there's a little thing on it to raise my toe," said Clausen, who was wearing a protective boot.
"I had the boot on until yesterday; I was walking in just my shoe starting yesterday during practice. Hopefully, I won't have to go back into the boot."
Clausen said the goal was to play against the Boilermakers, and he didn't give any indication that he wouldn't be available this weekend. But he said Wednesday would be the first time he has tested himself since the win over Michigan State.
Clausen was injured when he was sacked in the second quarter. He missed two plays in the second quarter, but he played the entire second half and led the Irish to a 33-30 victory.
"When he went down, I think the whole Notre Dame nation kind of held their breathe. Except for all the girls in the student section, they kind of cheered when (backup quarterback Dayne Crist) came in. What's up with that?" Olsen jokingly said.
"Obviously, Jimmy getting a little banged is a direct result of the offensive line, running backs, tight ends and everyone who was blocking. It kind of pissed me off being in that group and being responsible for it. To Jimmy's credit, he's a tough guy, he's definitely taken a few hits before, he got back into the game and as a leader of this team, as a captain of this team and as our quarterback, he did something we all hoped he could do and would do and did. He led us to a victory."
Clausen said the injury did affect how he played against the Spartans.
"It's my plant foot. Whether I'm dropping or throwing a pass I'm always using my foot to plant and throw the ball," Clausen said. "During Saturday, I had to adjust a little bit. I really wasn't using my legs too much, it was that painful. I'm just going to try to do as much as I can today and more tomorrow and see where it goes from there."
Clausen will also have to adjust to having one of his top targets in Michael Floyd on the field. Notre Dame is using a committee of receivers, which include Duval Kamara, Robby Parris, Deion Walker, Shaquelle Evans and former Bishop Dwenger standout John Goodman, to make up for the loss of Floyd's 358 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
"Mike's a big playmaker in this offense, and we are going to miss him for the rest of the season," Clausen said. "That just means guys have to step up. Whether it's Duval, Robby, Deion, Shaq, Goody, whoever it is who's out there has to step up and make plays. Hopefully, it isn't so much of a drop off from Mike. We expect those guys to be just as good a playmaker as Mike, and whenever the ball is thrown their way for them to go up and get the ball."
Clausen said he doesn't expect his style of play to change too much as far as taking risks on throws to a receiver. Plus, the Irish still have junior receiver Golden Tate, who has 19 catches for 301 yards and three touchdowns, and sophomore tight end Kyle Rudolph, who has 13 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown.
"Mike is such a great playmaker, and so is Golden. Whenever there is a guy on them, I have faith in both of those guys, and the rest of the receiving corps, that they are going to make the play and not the DB," Clausen said. "They are going to come up with the catch or nobody is going to come up with the catch. I have faith in all the receivers the same way."
Analysis
Turf toe is a painful, nagging injury. Clausen may not be 100 percent for the rest of the season, but as long as he can put weight on his foot to throw, he will be fine.
This injury shouldn't hurt Clausen's performance too much because he isn't a quarterback who relies on his feet to make plays.
The junior is all about throwing the ball. He has thrown for 951 yards and nine touchdowns with an incredible 188.6 efficiency.
As long as the offensive line continues to provide the protection Clausen has gotten in the first three games, Michigan State was the first team to sack him, Notre Dame will be fine.
The bigger concern should be running back Armando Allen. The running back is dealing with an injured ankle that kept him out of practice Wednesday.
Allen has come on strong the last two games, and he is providing a relief to the passing game by averaging 108.7 rushing yards. Allen makes teams respect Notre Dame's running game, and that keeps some pressure off Clausen.
If Allen can go Saturday, which coach Charlie Weis said he should, Clausen's turf toe is less of a big deal. Because Allen will make it impossible for Purdue to just blitz like crazy to hit Clausen, because if the Boilermakers sell out every snap Allen will break loose for big runs.
