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In Godsey they trust Notre Dame hands QB reins over to sophomore
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Sophomore Gary Godsey will replace injured quarterback Arnaz Battle on Saturday when No. 21 Notre Dame plays host to No. 13 Purdue. "I think he gives us the best opportunity, right now, to win," coach Bob Davie said Monday. "He will be the starter. I expect him to play the whole football game." Godsey, whose brother George is the starting quarterback at Georgia Tech, practiced at both tight end and quarterback last season but did not play. He switched to quarterback during spring practice but did not play in either of Notre Dames first two games. The 6-foot-7, 239-pound Godsey chose the Irish over Purdue after graduating from high school in Tampa, Fla. Battle, a junior, led the Irish with 157 yards rushing in two games, but had completed just 13 of 31 passes. Davie expects the Boilermakers to pressure Godsey more than they would have Battle. "Lets face it, Arnaz's ability to scramble was probably our biggest thing offensively," Davie said. "I fully expect Purdue to blitz us. I certainly would with a new quarterback in there, a big, tall guy like Gary Godsey. They're going to come after us, we know that and that's what were going to prepare for all week." Battle suffered a fracture in his left wrist on the first play of Notre Dames overtime loss Saturday to top-ranked Nebraska. He will undergo surgery Tuesday and could be out for the rest of the season. "I would say its a minimum, an absolute minimum of 6-8 weeks," Davie said. "The surgeon will know more [Tuesday] when he goes in. So he's out indefinitely. There's a strong possibility he'll be out the rest of the season, and that's how we're approaching it." Davie said freshman Matt LoVecchio served as Godsey's backup during Monday's practice, but he was unsure if LoVecchio would continue in that role, saying freshmen Carlyle Holiday or Jared Clark could also emerge. "That's a short-term thing right now," he said.
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