Notre Dame wide receiver Will Pauling (2) celebrates a TD with his teammates, Saturday at Arkansas.
Chad Weaver/Blue & Gold
Notre Dame wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1)
The Notre Dame official depth chart got a shakeup at center on Monday. And the short-term answer to center Ashton Craig’sseason-ending left knee injury may not be the same as the long-term answer.
For now, though, redshirt sophomore Joe Ottling moves into that No. 1 spot, just as he did last Saturday when Craig went down late in ND’s 36-7 victory over NC State. The 6-foot-4, 308-pound redshirt sophomore played 21 snaps, and garnered a film grade score of 56.1 from Pro Football Focus, which is slightly lower than default average score.
Another option head coachMarcus Freeman could turn to is 6-7, 322-pound redshirt sophomore Sullivan Absher, primarily the backup right guard but who cross-trained at center in the spring.
The 13th-ranked Irish (4-2) host No. 20 USC (5-1) on Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium (7:30 EDT on NBC/Peacock), with the Trojans featuring one of the strongest pass rushes in the country. USC ranks seventh in sacks nationally and 12th in tackles for loss.
Listed as questionable for the USC game are starting nickel DeVonta Smith(calf), starting slot receiver Jaden Greathouse (thigh), key backup tight end Cooper Flanagan (Achilles) and deep backup offensive lineman, freshman Will Black(concussion).
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At Blue & Gold, we’re committed to a depth chart projection on Mondays, and anytime there’s a change. The difference is we’ll go beyond the two-deeps for the Irish.
A few things to note. Players with an -x after their names have been ruled out for the season. Players with -y have been ruled out for at least the upcoming game. Players with -q were listed as questionable in Thursday’s official availability report from Notre Dame. OR denotes players tied for a spot on the depth chart.
With Notre Dame shifting to eligibility year as its primary identifier this season for the first time ever, we will follow that lead, but clarify between a redshirt freshman, for instance, and a true freshman.
Heights and weights were refreshed at the start of preseason camp on July 31.
