Medical Rounds | by Jay

Looks like Schwapps on a Plane has been grounded for the season with surgery on his knee. Per the Observer:

Notre Dame sophomore fullback Asaph Schwapp will have surgery on his left knee today and miss the rest of the season, Irish coach Charlie Weis said Wednesday.

"From watching him today, he's not going to be able to play [this season]," Weis said. "The question isn't if we'll have to have him in to get fixed, the question is when. By having [the surgery] now, you have a chance at having him back for spring [practices]."

Ashley McConnell has been playing FB since midway through the Penn State game, so he's already got three games under his belt. Also of note, Charlie said freshman Luke Schmidt might move into the mix as a backup to McConnell. Schmidt was one of those intriguing recruits whose size (6-3, 252) didn't automatically make you think of a classic tailback, although he played that position exclusively for his high school team. There was a lot of speculation that he would make a better FB/H-back type for ND. Looks like that's where he's heading.

Other news from the DL:

• Travis Thomas will probably rest his sore ribs again versus Stanford. Noticeable in the practice video from yesterday was some footage of the 4-3 alignment, with Toryan Smith and Steve Quinn practicing at MLB and Mitchell Thomas, Mo Crum, and Joe Brockington on the outside. Something to look for when we take the field against the Cardinal.

• Bobby Morton's in the same boat as Travis, and may or may not play against Stanford after leaving with an injury in the Purdue game. By the way, there's a good piece on Morton and his recently passed away father by John Walters (who is now writing for NBCSports.com).

• David Grimes is getting healthier, according to CW.

• Ambrose Wooden looks "close to starting" against Stanford.

• Bobby Renkes took all his usual kickoffs in practice this week.