Notre Dame football injury report: Starter ruled out for the season before Game 7 vs. USC

Notre Dame will be without its starting center for the rest of the season. Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman announced during his Monday news conference that redshirt junior Ashton Craig will miss the remainder of the 2025 campaign with a knee injury. Craig’s 2024 season was also cut short due to a season-ending left knee injury.

Also on Monday, the Notre Dame football communications team ruled out wide receiver Micah Gilbert and offensive linemen Charles Jagusah and Peter Jones for Saturday’s game against USC. They listed freshman offensive lineman Will Black, junior tight end Cooper Flanagan, junior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and fifth-year defensive back DeVonta Smith as questionable with varying injuries.

Blue & Gold details this week’s full injury report here. 

Notre Dame football injury report vs. USC (Game 7)

Here is a detailed look at this week’s Notre Dame football injury report vs. USC.

— Freshman offensive lineman Will Black is questionable for the game with a concussion. He missed last Saturday’s game against NC State with the same injury designation.

— Junior tight end Cooper Flanagan is questionable for the game for the first time this season. On Jan. 2, Flanagan suffered an Achilles injury in his left foot in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, which has kept him out for the first five games of the season. Blue & Gold spotted Flanagan in uniform on Sunday. And last Monday, Freeman said Flanagan started to get reps in practice last week and will plan to increase his workload in practice this week.

— Sophomore wide receiver Micah Gilbert (left hand) is out for the game. He played three snaps last Saturday against NC State. However, the broadcast showed that he left the game and went into the locker room.

— Junior wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (right thigh) is questionable for the game. No details have been given on when the injury occurred. However, he missed the NC State and Boise State games after playing 24 snaps against Arkansas.

— Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Charles Jagusah is out for the game. On July 5, Jagusah fractured his left humerus during a UTV accident in Wyoming. On Monday, Freeman said Jagusah had to have a second surgery, and the timeline for his return is uncertain.

“Yeah, he had a follow-up surgery — I can’t remember — a couple weeks ago, just to clean up some things in his arm,” Freeman said. “And it’s going to be a process to get him back, but he is making positive strides. He will return at some point, I just don’t know when it’s gonna be right now.

“He’s just every day in that training room, in the weight room, trying to get stronger and healed up. So when we find out that he’s ready to go and can help us, we’ll obviously utilize that information and make some decisions from there. But right now, he’s just in the process of rehabbing and healing up.”

— Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Peter Jones is out for the game. On Aug. 26, the Notre Dame football communications team announced he had a left ankle injury.

— Fifth-year defensive back DeVonta Smith (right calf) is questionable for the game. Freeman said last Monday that Smith aggravated a calf strain. He previously told reporters that Smith rolled his ankle in pregame warmups against Texas A&M. Smith has missed three games this season, including last week against NC State.

Notre Dame football players out for the season

— Sixth-year tight end Kevin Bauman is out for the season and has retired from football. On Aug. 9, the Notre Dame football communications team announced Bauman suffered an articular cartilage injury in his left knee. 

— Redshirt junior Ashton Craig is out for the season. On Monday, Freeman announced he suffered a season-ending left knee injury on Saturday against NC State.

— Senior walk-on running back Dylan Devezin is out for the season. On Aug. 26, the Notre Dame football communications team announced he has a left shoulder injury.

— Freshman defensive back Brandon Logan is out for the season. On Aug. 26, the Notre Dame football communications team announced he has a left shoulder injury.

— Redshirt freshman running back Kedren Young is out for the season. On Aug. 9, the Notre Dame football communications team announced Young tore his ACL in his right knee in fall camp practice. It required surgery.