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Notre Dame DT Jarron Jones out for season with knee injury

Sam Cooper
·College football writer
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 11: Jarron Jones #94 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rushes against Jon Heck #71 of the North Carolina Tar Heels at Notre Dame Stadium on October 11, 2014 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 11: Jarron Jones #94 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rushes against Jon Heck #71 of the North Carolina Tar Heels at Notre Dame Stadium on October 11, 2014 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Notre Dame took a huge hit to its defense on Friday.

Head coach Brian Kelly confirmed Saturday that redshirt junior defensive tackle Jarron Jones suffered a severe knee injury that will require surgery.

Jones will have surgery next week and will miss the entire 2015 season, Kelly said.

Kelly told reporters that Jones' knee got rolled on during an 11-on-11 portion of practice.

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The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Jones missed all of spring practice while nursing a foot injury that kept him out of the final two games of the 2014 season. When healthy, Jones started all 11 games he played in and registered 40 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2014. He was again expected to start for the Fighting Irish at the nose tackle spot this season.

In Jones’ absence, junior Isaac Rochell could potentially slide inside from defensive end. Massive true freshman Jerry Tillery (6-foot-6, 305 pounds), who enrolled early, could also potentially move into the starting lineup.

The Fighting Irish open their 2015 season at home against Texas on Sept. 5.

For more Notre Dame news, visit BlueAndGold.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!