Eilar Hardy cleared by NCAA

Notre Dame safety Eilar Hardy has been cleared by the NCAA to participate in competition, the school announced Friday.

This makes him eligible for the No. 10 Fighting Irish's game Saturday at No. 9 Arizona State.

Coach Brian Kelly had invited Hardy back to the roster last month, and Hardy began practicing with the team again last week after the players returned from a bye week, which coincided with the school's midsemester break.

The fifth-year Irish coach said Thursday that the redshirt junior had been cleared by the school to return to the playing field. Hardy was the last of the five Notre Dame players to be implicated in the school's internal academic probe, which was announced in August and resulted in the absence of defensive lineman Ishaq Williams, receiver DaVaris Daniels, linebacker Kendall Moore and cornerback KeiVarae Russell for the season.

Russell and Williams have said they plan to return to school in June for their final seasons.

Moore, who would have been a fifth-year senior this year, announced on social media that he was done at Notre Dame, while Kelly said previously that he has spoken with Daniels but that the two have not discussed his potential future with the program.

Hardy, a Reynoldsburg, Ohio, native, has played in just 10 games for Notre Dame and has started two, all coming last season. He has 26 total tackles, including one for a loss.