Sept. 10, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – As with any war, a unit is bound to suffer some casualties.
However, Notre Dame suffered more than its fair share from the Nebraska game. After the haze of Saturday’s loss cleared, the coaching staff began to evaluate the troops.
To the dismay of Irish head coach Bob Davie and his staff, they discovered that what initially appeared to be a slight sprained wrist turned out to be a serious injury for quarterback Arnaz Battle.
“It is a blow,” Davie said about the loss of Battle. “While it is a blow to this football team, it is more of a blow to him.”
Battle experienced some swelling in his left wrist after Saturday’s game. The quarterback injured his wrist on the first play of the game. Battle failed to complete a pass to tight end Jabari Holloway. After releasing the ball, he got tackled and landed on his left wrist.
“It is devastating news but that is part of football,” Davie said.
The injury did not appear to be severe. In fact, the quarterback really did not notice it until the second half of Saturday’s game.
The coaching staff believed that Battle had just a mild sprained wrist but early Sunday morning, the injury took a turn for the worst.
“Give the kid a lot of credit,” Davie said. “He played an entire football game with a broken wrist is what it amounts to.”
Davie announced Battle’s injury at his Sunday afternoon press conference. He found out about Battle’s injuries from Notre Dame head athletic trainer Jim Russ shortly before the press conference.
At the time of the announcement, Battle’s family had not been notified. They were traveling home.
Officially, Battle has a broken navicular in his left wrist.
“He has worked extremely hard to polish his game,” Davie said. “He is on the verge of greatness but this is all part of football.”
Davie and staff can only hope that with the injury occurring so early in the season that Battle could obtain a fifth-year of eligibility. It is a possibility if Battle does not play in another contest this season.