Donte Williams clarifies QB Jaxson Dart's status ... somewhat

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart made the trip to Notre Dame, went through an extended full early warm-up session Saturday night, came back out of the locker room in full pads and uniform and then took the second-team snaps during the final pregame walkthrough period.

But was he an option to play for USC if needed?

That remains less than clear.

"He was not fully available until he gets 100 percent healthy. He's a guy that tells me right before the game that he runs at 80-85 percent and different things like that. I care about his long-term health and not just one football game. His long-term health," USC interim coach Donte Williams said after the game. "If he wasn't all the way right then we'll all have an issue. So I care about just making sure he's 100 percent healthy before we put him back on the field."

Dart, meanwhile, was asked what he expected of his status or availability entering the game.

"Coming into this, I'm still like brand new off my injury. I've only had one like full practice this week since it. So really I just came in expecting to be ready whenever I was needed to be used at all, but that was kind of my idea," he said.

Hence the confusion as to whether he was truly available.

While fans filled up Twitter and message boards clamoring for the impressive freshman to be thrust into the game as USC fell behind by 21 points before ultimately losing 31-16, starter Kedon Slovis was far from the main issue for the Trojans and the junior three-year starter helped lead two late touchdown drives to briefly make it an 8-point game.

But after what Dart showed in his one appearance -- 391 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs off the bench at Washington State -- before undergoing minor knee surgery days later for a torn meniscus, fans will continue to demand he get action every time the offense struggles.

Now more than a month removed from the injury, Dart said he was formally cleared by the medical staff after practice last Wednesday and went through his fullest practice the next day.

"Thursday was my first cleared practice. I got cleared Wednesday after practice," he said. "I think I'll be good to do everything next week. So next week will be my first real week of development since my injury, so I'm just looking forward to that."

Williams again reiterated that he needs to see more from Dart before he's an option to play.

"He was cleared to an extent. But he's not running at 100 percent, he hadn't ran at 100 percent. He had a couple days of practice still none of them really taking a hit or a rush coming at him yet," he said.