From stinking to just lousy

Reporters from Chicago Tribune and ESPN.com were at practice today to do stories on Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones. They were both taken aback when Brian Kelly said that Jones had progressed from stinking to merely lousy.

Kelly explained that he was just using those terms to show how far behind Jones was when practice started because of last fall’s shoulder surgery and how far he has to go before he can compete for the starting position this fall.

“He didn’t come here to be an average quarterback,” Kelly said. “He came here to lead us to a championship. I need to let him know that he’s making progress…He’s not ready to win games for us at the level we need. Yeah, maybe he can win some non-conference games for us but that’s not why he’s here.”

Kelly said that Jones has progressed physically to the point where he now has a base from which to compete when practice resumes this summer.