IMG Academy's physical conditioning coach and Indiana native David Ballou has joined Notre Dame's strength and conditioning staff.

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Ballou will work as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. ND hired Connecticut's Matt Balis earlier this month to lead the football team's strength program. Former director of strength and conditioning Paul Longo is taking a leave of absence.

"(Ballou) gives us another really talented strength and conditioning coach on our team," ND head coach Brian Kelly said. "We've put together a team of five down there that include two that are part of our staff from before in Jake Flint and David Grimes, and we're in the process of adding one more. So we'll have a team of five down there that I think will be as good as any strength coach in the country."

The Irish signed two IMG Academy products in their 2016 class: running back Tony Jones Jr. and strong safety Spencer Perry. A third, offensive guard Robert Hainsey, joined the duo on campus this month as an early enrollee. ND is exploring the possibility of practicing at IMG Academy at some point during the spring.

The Avon, Ind., native spent one season at IMG Academy. Prior to his time in Bradenton, Fla., Ballou served as Avon (Ind.) High School's head strength and conditioning coach for 14 seasons. The school was honored with the 2015 Strength of America award in 2015. Ballou, who also served as defensive coordinator and coached linebackers and running backs at Avon, played fullback at Indiana for three seasons.