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Jaylon Smith's knee injury could be worse than previously thought

Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith is one of the best players in all of college football this season, accumulating 114 total tackles (9.0 tackles for loss) and five pass break ups this year.

However, Smith suffered a knee injury against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, an injury that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly called "significant" after the game. It was later discovered that Smith would need ACL and MCL reconstruction, and that he would reportedly be undergoing surgery later this week.

Unfortunately for Smith, Ian Rapaport is now reporting that Smith could have nerve damage in the injured knee.

This would be an extremely serious injury if true, and could derail Smith's promising football career. Hopefully he will be able to recover.