SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- DaVaris Daniels is fully recovered from a broken collarbone suffered Nov. 10, and has re-joined the Notre Dame offense in time for the team's rigorous preparation for the BCS Championship against Alabama Jan. 7.
"He's good," coach Brian Kelly said. "We would not put him out there unless he was free from injury."
Daniels' return is welcome news for the Irish offense, adding another weapon to Everett Golson's arsenal against a fearsome Alabama defense. Golson successfully looked Daniels' way at a higher rate in the few weeks leading up to his injury, and Daniels hasn't noticed a dropoff in that chemistry despite being out of commission for about a month.
"We kind of just gelled back together," Daniels said. "Once I got back in there, there were no setbacks or anything."
Daniels was cleared for Notre Dame's physical, full-contact practices this week and said he took a "pretty good blow" Friday. That came after weeks of wearing a red jersey, usually reserved for quarterbacks won't get hit during practice.
"I never have been the type of guy to shy away from contact -- when you have to, it's kind of a different situation," Daniels said, adding, "I don't know, it was kind of fun not being able to be touched."
Before putting the red jersey on to participate in some timing drills, Daniels had to sit on the sidelines and watch as his teammates prepared for and played against Wake Forest and USC, with a trip to the BCS Championship on the line.
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That wasn't easy, especially for someone who played a significant role in Notre Dame's narrow win over Pittsburgh -- the closest the Irish came to a defeat all season.
"It was hard," Daniels said. "Even watching practice, it was the worst feeling I've ever felt."
Daniels isn't guaranteed to fit back in to his usual role for the BCS Championship, though. While he hopes to be in that spot and will have plenty of practice reps with Notre Dame's first-team offense over the next week, it won't be handed back to him. But either way, Notre Dame plans on utilizing his skill set against Alabama.
"I think we'll be fine with him," Kelly said. "He's a really good player that understands that his reps are going to be based upon how he practices and how he performs. I'm certain that he'll play a role in the game."