Tag: Ashton Craig

Marcus Freeman updates injuries to Jordan Botelho, Ashton Craig, Billy Schrauth and more

Not great news for a few Irish starters

On Monday, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman had bad news about all of the players that suffered injuries against Purdue.

Defensive lineman [autotag]Jordan Botelho[/autotag] and offensive lineman [autotag]Ashton Craig[/autotag] are lost for the year due to knee injuries. It was reported earlier that Botelho most likely would be out for the remainder of the season, which unfortunately turned out to be correct.

There was some good injury news as well, as wide receiver [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] will be full go this weekend. Defensive lineman [autotag]Joshua Burnham[/autotag] is questionable, and offensive lineman [autotag]Billy Schrauth[/autotag], the third player hurt against the Boilermakers, is expected to miss a few weeks.

Notre Dame offensive lineman Ashton Craig participates in a drill during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in South Bend.

It wasn’t the news we wanted to hear, but it was somewhat expected. The Irish have had to battle on the field this year, along with in the training room.

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Notre Dame football lost three starters in first half vs. Purdue to injury

The big lead masked more Irish injuries

While Notre Dame dominated on the field against Purdue in the first half, it wasn’t without some losses.

First it was starting offensive lineman [autotag]Billy Schrauth[/autotag] going down, then returning without his pads on crutches with a boot on his right ankle. Then in a matter of a few plays midway through the second quarterback, defensive lineman [autotag]Jordan Botelho[/autotag] and offensive lineman [autotag]Ashton Craig[/autotag] also got bit by the injury bug.

It looked like the defenders was much worse, as he was carted off the field as we await any update. As for Craig, he did walk off on his own power, but any sort of injury should keep him on the sidelines for the rest of this contest with a 42-0 halftime lead.

Sep 14, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Jordan Botelho (12) is carted off the field with an apparent injury during the second quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

It’s another big blow on the injury front for Notre Dame, as they already lost projected starting tackle Charles Jagusah for the year and wide receiver Jordan Faison warmed up, but didn’t seem to return from his ankle injury.

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Notre Dame offensive lineman named to AP All-Bowl team

OLU has found another gem!

It took an injury for [autotag]Ashton Craig[/autotag] to see the field for Notre Dame football, but he made the most of it.

Zeke Correll went down with an injury against Clemson, and the Irish inserted Craig into his starting spot. The Irish very well could have went with senior Andrew Kristofic, but opted for the sophomore and it was the right move.

There was no drop off in play and Craig showed the Notre Dame staff that they made the correct move when he was named to the AP All-Bowl team for his performance against Oregon State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.

Craig will enter the 2024 season as the unquestioned starter at center, the most important position on the offensive line.

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Hiestand wasting no time, out on the recruiting trail for Notre Dame

Hiestand is making connections right away

It looks like the time off for Notre Dame’s “new” offensive line coach Harry Hiestand has reinvigorated him. After leaving the Irish for the NFL and the Chicago Bears, one of the most well regarded OL coaches seems like he was calling it a career.

Then Marcus Freeman came calling, and enticed Hiestand to return to South Bend for a second go-around. He looks like he isn’t wasting any time getting to make connections on the recruiting trail as he visited in-state powerhouse Lawrenceburg High School, Ashton Craig just signed with the Irish this cycle.

I have interviewed their head coach Ryan Knigga previously, and he runs a fantastic program with a lot of talent. Expect to hear another name soon from LHS getting a look from the Irish in the coming years.

Oh and Hiestand wasn’t the only Irish coach visiting …..

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Notre Dame football: Signing day superlatives

Future captains, under-rated stars and more

The early signing period for the 2022 class is pretty much over, with a few commitments trickling in today. For the Irish, they signed twenty-one players, making it a consensus Top-10 effort. There were obvious ups and downs, with the Irish seeing two receivers de-commit in the days leading up to the early period. That didn’t mean the Irish didn’t sign a great class and here are some early signing superlatives for Marcus Freeman’s “first” recruiting class.

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Notre Dame commit given fourth star by 247Sports

Are you a believer in star rankings mattering?

Ashton Craig of Lawrenceburg, Ind. gave Notre Dame his pledge back on June 26, becoming the 15th of now 19 commitments in the 2022 class.  Since committing, Craig has seen his rating on 247Sports go up as earlier this week he went from a three to a four-star prospect.

Craig chose Notre Dame over offers from Cincinnati, Northwestern, Nebraska, and several others.

Craig plays offensive tackle at Lawrenceburg but figures to move to the interior offensive line once he gets to South Bend.

Related:

Every Notre Dame leading rusher since the start of the Lou Holtz era

New ACC commish wants Notre Dame for football

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FIW Exclusive: Craig’s head coach breaks down his Notre Dame pledge

Lawrenceburg head coach Ryan Knigga on his star player Ashton Craig’s commitment to the Irish

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Over the weekend the Irish added yet another offensive lineman to their 2022 recruiting class, when instate tackle Ashton Craig committed to the Irish.

Due to not being as active on some via social media Craig was a bit of an unknown when he made his pledge to the Irish. Although we were all ecstatic about his commitment, not many of us knew too much about him.

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Due to the fact that I recently saw a few of his teammates at the Rise and Fire camp, I was able to connect with Lawrenceburg’s head coach Ryan Knigga. Above is our interview with his head coach’s analysis of what to expect from Craig and more about the newest member of the 2022 Irish recruiting class.

Notre Dame adds another offensive lineman to 2022 recruiting class

Another offensive lineman added to the 2022 Irish recruiting class

The Irish have added another player to their number two rated 2022 recruiting class as Ashton Craig made his pledge yesterday.

The instate tackle is the third commit on the offensive line, following Joey Tanona and Ty Chan. At six-foot-six-inches and 283-pounds, Craig brings a huge frame to the Notre Dame family. He held over 20 other offers, selecting the Irish over the likes of Northwestern, Florida State, Michigan, Baylor and others.

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The pledge by Craig keeps the Irish’s recruiting ranking extremely high, just one spot behind Ohio State for the top overall class in the country according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire as we will have an exclusive interview with Craig’s Lawrenceburg high school head coach Ryan Knigga in the coming days.

Notre Dame gives offer to offensive tackle recruit Ashton Craig

The Irish are after a recruit who could end up with them or in the Big Ten.

With much of his 2020 unit not returning in 2021, Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn has his work cut out for him. He will do everything in his power to keep the Irish’s reputation for churning out quality offensive linemen going for as long as possible. To that end, he has presented an offer to a tackle who would need to wait only a year before arriving in South Bend. This latest target is the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Ashton Craig from Lawrenceburg, Indiana:

Craig is very interested in Notre Dame, but he also is giving serious consideration to numerous Big Ten schools. Namely, he is looking at Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa and Nebraska. Other programs in the running include Duke, Wake Forest, Florida State, Boston College, Purdue, Indiana, Cincinnati and Toledo. Wherever he ends up, he has the body that belongs in college football, and any offense would benefit from having him.