ND quarterback stayed in despite blurred vision

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind.

Talk about determined. Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist finished off an opening scoring drive against Michigan last week even though he couldn’t see out of his right eye.

Crist aknowledged Wednesday he had no vision in the eye and was groggy before capping a 71-yard scoring drive that gave the Irish an early lead. His 1-yard TD run came seven plays after a hit from a helmet during a 19-yard run led to the blurred vision.

After the touchdown, Crist sat out the rest of the first half. After he was cleared to play when doctors determined it was not a concussion and his vision had cleared, he led the Irish to 17 second-half points in their 28-24 loss.

Crist said Wednesday he’s fully recovered and not worried about being hurt again. He said he is ready for Saturday night’s game at Michigan State (2-0).

“After I initially took the hit, I tried to shake it off. ...But then physically I could not see ... It was blurry to the point where I couldn’t see anything out of my right eye,” he said

“After that, we just pushed through it and tried to finish the drive. Then when everything was done, it all kind of hit me. That’s when the trainers identified it and wanted to pull me off for a second.”

Crist, who had a concussion in high school, said medical personnel were very meticulous in determining that he was OK to go back into the game.

“Obviously while it was going on we wanted to identify what it was and make sure that we handled it the right way, making sure that I was in a safe predicament,” he said. “Doctors took special care that I was safe to play, everything was OK. I passed multiple tests and then follow-ups after that. So, again, I’m not worried about it. I’m just worried about Michigan State right now and just moving on and wanting to get back out on the field.”

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly stressed that Crist was given the medical go-ahead to play, didn’t have a concussion and his vision has cleared up or he wouldn’t have been reinserted in the game for the second half.