SOUTH BEND -- Notre Dame men's basketball player Joey Brooks was officially added to the Irish football roster on Tuesday.
The reality of that decision hits Friday. Very early Friday.
"At 6 a.m.," ND head football coach Brian Kelly qualified Thursday. "And outside."
Those pre-spring practice sessions are known affectionately as "Camp Kelly" by the ND football players, though the sub-freezing temperatures that will likely be prevalent at that hour usually don't generate much affection.
Kelly, for one, is expecting the 6-foot-6, 223-pounder from Houston to survive and advance to the less-arduous official spring practice sessions, the first of which will be March 20.
"He's willing. He's a nice looking athlete," Kelly said of the potential backup tight end/receiver. "We're always willing to give a guy a shot if he's willing and wants to do it, because he certainly has some intriguing athletic qualities.
"I don't think there are any expectations. He comes in here with an open mind that 'hey, let's give it a shot and see what happens.' "
Brooks continues to practice with the 24th-ranked Irish men's basketball team (23-7), which plays at No. 8 Louisville on Saturday, though he has missed some practices and even road trips this season for academic reasons.
Before the season, though, ND men's head basketball coach Mike Brey and Brooks agreed the senior would redshirt in 2012-13, thus preserving the option that Brooks could finish his hoops career elsewhere next school year. He could still do that if football doesn't work out -- or move into the business world.
"He's been great," Brey said of the Strake Jesuit College Prep School product. "I think Joey knew, given what we had returning and Cam (Biedscheid) coming in, that it was going to be hard for him to really find good minutes. His frame of mind has really been great."
Brooks, with a career scoring average of 2.3 points in 80 basketball games (including eight starts), likely will go on scholarship if his football experiment carries into the fall.
"I don't think it would be fair to call it a tryout," Kelly said. "He's on the roster. He's cleared medically. We're using the spring to kind of figure this out. We'll see where it goes."
Nichols' career over
The string of chronic injuries that have limited offensive tackle Tate Nichols' playing career to one cameo in three years at Notre Dame have finally pushed him to medical hardship status.
Kelly confirmed Thursday that Nichols has been removed from the active roster. He can continue on scholarship and finish up at ND academically, and he won't count against the 85-scholarship limit.
The 6-8, 320-pounder from Walton, Ky., underwent season-ending knee surgery late last fall.
No doubling up
A year after football players Bennett Jackson, Josh Atkinson and George Atkinson III puffed up the Irish track and field team's prowess, the trio will concentrate solely on football this spring.
The same goes for freshman wide receiver Chris Brown, one of the top prep triple-jumpers in the nation last year while competing for Hanahan (S.C.) High School.
"It was a mutual decision," Kelly said. "Bennett is coming off a shoulder surgery, and then Josh and George are fighting for real playing time. Chris Brown similar situation. Academics played into it too. None of them are failing, but I want to make sure they're on solid ground academically."
Rule changes
The NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved several new rules, effective for the 2013 season. The most significant of which are:
-- One that requires players who target and contact defenseless players above the shoulders to be ejected. The automatic ejection is on top of the existing 15-yard penalty. If the foul occurs in the first half of a game, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game. If the foul occurs in the second half or overtime of a game, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game and the first half of the next game.
-- There will be a 10-second runoff with less than a minute remaining in either half when the sole reason for the clock stoppage is an injury.
-- A new rule regarding spiking the football to stop the clock. A minimum of three seconds is required to be on the game clock in order to spike the ball to stop the clock. If one or two seconds remain on the clock, there is only time for the offense to run a more play.
Staff writer Eric Hansen:
ehansen@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6112
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