Notre Dame football injury report: Why Jadarian Price, Cam Williams did not play in Blue-Gold Game
A baker’s dozen scholarship players were unavailable because of injuries for the Notre Dame football Blue-Gold Game on Saturday. Most of the ailments were known, but two of them in particular raised eyebrows when head coach Marcus Freeman announced them just over 48 hours ahead of kickoff.
Junior running back Jadarian Price and freshman wide receiver Cam Williams were held out of the game with hamstring injuries. Freeman gave an update on both players after the Blue Team beat the Gold Team, 28-21, at Notre Dame Stadium yesterday.
Freeman said Price, who has now missed two Blue-Gold Games in a row after starring as an early enrollee in 2022, pulled his hamstring returning a kick in Tuesday or Wednesday’s practice. It was toward the end of the session, and Freeman kept the players on the field for a few extra special teams reps. In hindsight, he said he should have called it a day — even though Price’s injury will not turn out to be significant.
“It wasn’t crazy,” Freeman said. “It’s one that would keep them out a week, but it just came at the wrong time, right before the spring game, because we wanted to see him out there. Shame on me. I don’t know, I just wanted to get one extra rep in the kick scrimmage and it ended up costing us a hamstring. I take the blame on that one, but he’s fine. He had a great spring. He’s done some really good things, some really good things.”
As for Williams, Freeman said he tweaked his hamstring as a result of taking on extra reps with a thinning wide receiver room throughout the spring. Notre Dame has not had the services of Jordan Faison because he’s busy playing lacrosse, and Clemson transfer Beaux Collins has been around the facility but unable to practice because he’s still enrolled online at his former institution.
Senior Jayden Thomas has been limited with a hamstring issue of his own, and Marshall transfer Jayden Harrison has been out entirely with a foot injury for several weeks now. Even senior Deion Colzie, who rebounded to have a productive day in the spring game, was not a full participant in practice from the start of spring because of a finger injury.
Williams was funneled increasing opportunities from early March into mid-April, and they caught up to the teenager.
“When you start adding those reps to Cam Williams, then all sudden, he pulled his hamstring and in one of the practices,” Freeman said. “But he was very similar to (Price). It was a very mild tear but he wouldn’t be able to go full-go today. And so that’s why he wasn’t out there.”
Here is the full list of Notre Dame scholarship players who did not partake in the Blue-Gold Game because of injury.
Senior QB Riley Leonard (ankle)
Freshman RB Kedren Young (hamstring)
Junior RB Jadarian Price (hamstring)
Graduate WR Jayden Harrison (foot)
Senior WR Jayden Thomas (hamstring)
Freshman WR Cam Williams (hamstring)
Graduate TE Kevin Bauman (knee)
Senior TE Mitchell Evans (knee)
Freshman OT Styles Prescod (previous precaution)
Sophomore DT Armel Mukam (shoulder)
Junior DE Aiden Gobaira (knee)
Freshman DE Loghan Thomas (shoulder)
Junior CB Benjamin Morrison (shoulder)
