Tag: Rylie Mills

Is Howard Cross III playing today? Injury updates for Notre Dame DL

Notre Dame defensive lineman Howard Cross III is dealing with an ankle injury. Here are the latest updates.

Notre Dame defensive lineman [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] has been dealing with an ankle injury, and he’s questionable for today’s game at USC. Cross III has been a key part of the No. 5 Fighting Irish’s defense.

Howard Cross III injury update

Cross is questionable for today’s game. He is not listed on the two-deep depth chart. All student-athletes listed on the two-deep are available.

“Howard was close,” Notre Dame head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] said after the Irish beat No. 25 Army last week. “He practiced some. We just didn’t feel like he could give it a go.”

How long will Howard Cross III be out?

It is unclear how long Cross will be out, or if he’ll play this afternoon at USC.

Irish linebacker [autotag]Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa[/autotag] is out with a knee sprain, and linebacker [autotag]Bodie Kahoun[/autotag] is out as well. Notre Dame wide receiver [autotag]KK Smith[/autotag] is out with a broken collarbone.

Notre Dame defensive line depth chart

[autotag]Donovan Hinish[/autotag] and [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] will be expected to step up on the interior defensive line if Cross remains out.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through 11 games

Who leads the Irish heading into the final regular-season contest?

Notre Dame has its fate in its own hands for the College Football Playoff. All it needs to do is defeat USC, and a first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium appears to be a certainty. Who would have thought the Irish would be in such a good position after the loss to Northern Illinois threatened to derail their season early?

The Irish can’t afford to get complacent though. The Trojans have not had a great season, but dealing the Irish a loss that could threaten their playoff chances would make up for everything that has gone wrong for them. That’s why the Irish will need to prepare for them like they would for any ranked team, and the talent they have should allow them to emerge victorious.

Here are the major statistical leaders the Irish are taking into their regular-season finale. Not all of them will be available, but they’re fun to see nonetheless:

Notre Dame vs. Army: Second-Quarter Analysis

The Irish have the lead halfway through.

Notre Dame’s defense did itself no favors at the beginning of the second quarter against Army. If one had told that unit the Irish would be up, xx-7, at halftime, they have might considered themselves lucky.

With the Knights near the end zone on third-and-short, [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] was penalized for hands to the face, which gave Bryson Daily the fresh set of downs he needed to run for a 4-yard touchdown and get his team on the board.

[autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] led an impressive offensive drive that began at the Irish’s 25-yard line and mainly consisted of run plays. The Irish ultimately got to the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal, but [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] lost a yard on a carry, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Backed up by their own end zone, the Knights went three-and-out for the third time in four drives. James Wagenseller’s punt only went for 32 yards, and Love carried the ball 41 yards over three plays for his second touchdown of the game.

Another Knights three-and-out followed, and Wagenseller’s ensuing punt went to midfield. After Leonard completed a 28-yard pass to [autotag]Kris Mitchell[/autotag], the Irish went with runs the rest of the drive, including one by Leonard that went for 13 yards and set the Irish up at first-and-goal. Leonard failed to score on two straight runs before handing it off to [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] for a 2-yard touchdown.

Daily ran the ball 20 yards on the Knights’ first play from scrimmage, but [autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag] forced a fumble, which was recovered by [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag]. The Irish tried to add onto their lead right before halftime, but after a false start penalty, [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt as the clock hit zero.

Things are looking good for the Irish, but there’s half the game left.

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Is Howard Cross III playing today? Injury updates for Notre Dame DL

Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Howard Cross III is dealing with a left ankle injury. Here are the latest updates.

[autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag], a defensive lineman for the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, will miss tonight’s game against the No. 18 Army Black Knights at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Cross missed last week’s game against the Virginia Cavaliers with a left ankle injury and now he will sit out against Army, as well.

Freshman wide receiver [autotag]KK Smith[/autotag] is also out with a clavicle injury.

All other Notre Dame student-athletes listed on the two-deep are available.

Howard Cross III injury update

Cross remains out with a left ankle injury.

With Cross out, Notre Dame will have even more of a challenge when it comes to an Army offensive line that earned praise from Notre Dame head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag].

“They’re led, to me, by their O-line,” Freeman told the South Bend Tribune. “They come off the ball, they’re physical, they’re big – bigger than what you usually see when you play academy schools. They’re aggressive in the special teams. All three phases present some issues that we have to be prepared for.”

How long will Howard Cross III be out?

It’s unclear if this injury will also sideline Cross next week against the USC Trojans.

Notre Dame defensive line depth chart

With Cross out, [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and [autotag]Donovan Hinish[/autotag] will be counted on to step up and fill in.

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Is Howard Cross III playing today? Injury updates for Notre Dame defensive line

Notre Dame defensive lineman Howard Cross III is dealing with a left ankle injury. Here are the latest updates.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

No. 8 Notre Dame defensive lineman [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] has a left ankle injury and will miss Saturday’s game against the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Fighting Irish have used a stout defense to push their way towards the College Football Playoff, and Cross has been one of their best, if not their best, defensive linemen all season long. His loss will hurt, though it is not expected to be long-term.

Graduate running back [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] is also unavailable for today’s game.

Howard Cross injury update

Cross could return as soon as next week for the Irish’s tilt against No. 16 Army in New York.

“It’s not a long-term thing, but our doctors made the determination he’s going to be out this week,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said Monday, according to the South Bend Tribune. “We hope to get him back the following week depending on how the rehab continues to happen.”

How long will Howard Cross be out?

Cross might miss just one game, but it’s hard to say for sure.

Notre Dame defensive linemen depth chart

[autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and [autotag]Donovan Hinish[/autotag]will be tasked with stepping up — Mills had a monster game last week against Florida State. [autotag]Armel Mukam[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Sevillano[/autotag] are other depth options.

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Notre Dame vs. Florida State: Third-Quarter Analysis

One quarter to go.

The third quarter has featured Notre Dame really laying the hammer down on a Florida State team that already was struggling. And it has happened on both sides of the ball, hence their 31-3 lead.

[autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] recorded his career-high third sack on Brock Glenn, who responded by promptly throwing an interception to [autotag]Jordan Clark[/autotag], his first with the Irish. The offense took advantage of starting at the Seminoles’ 35-yard line by reaching the end zone in six plays. That happened when [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] ran for his second touchdown, this one from 6 yards out.

When the Seminoles got the ball back, Luke Kromenhoek replaced Glenn as quarterback. The result was them finally put together another decent drive, even converting on a third down. Though they advanced as far as the Irish 27, Kromenhoek was sacked twice on the final series, including on a fourth-and-12.

Though the Irish got some help with a roughing the passer call and ended up at the 6, Leonard couldn’t finish off the drive with a touchdown, either by him running it in or throwing it to a receiver. At least [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] kicked a 28-yard field goal, his first of the game.

The Irish have this game well in hand with the Seminoles presenting absolutely no threat.

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Notre Dame vs. Florida State: Second-Quarter Analysis

The Irish are up with 30 minutes in the books.

(This story was updated to add new information).

[autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] wanted to finish what he started for Notre Dame late in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, he ran for 65 yards and initially appeared to have just missed the end zone.

But a replay review confirmed Price had kept his foot in bounds, so he had a touchdown to extend the Irish’s lead over Florida State to 14-3.

There wasn’t a lot of action to speak of for a while after that, though the Irish’s defense had an interesting sequence. After [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] went out with an injury, [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] picked him up with back-to-back sacks on Brock Glenn to unseat Cross as the Irish’s sacks leader.

After getting close to Seminoles punter Alex Mastromanno a few times, [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] got a piece of a punt, and that allowed the Irish’s offense to start a drive at midfield. It didn’t mean a thing though as the Irish never reached the red zone, and a [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] 42-yard field-goal attempt went wide left.

[autotag]Donovan Hinish[/autotag] recorded another sack on Glenn to force another Seminoles punt. The Irish had to start further back than before this time, and with time running out, they opted to go for it on a fourth-and-10 from the Seminoles 34-yard line after a timeout.

The Seminoles were flagged for having 12 men on the field, and the Irish  picked up a first down when Leonard completed a 22-yard pass to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag]. Leonard took full advantage by promptly hitting [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] with a 12-yard touchdown.

The Irish are up, 21-3, at halftime. The way the Seminoles have played offense, that looks like a safe lead, but we’ll see.

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Three Notre Dame players named to Lombardi Award Watch List

Think any of them has a shot to win it?

Blockers are the unsung heroes of both sides of the line in football. Without them, none of the players on the other units would be allowed to do what they can do. It only makes sense that college football gives out the Lombardi Award for the best lineman every year.

The watch list for the 2024 season has come out, and three Notre Dame players are on it. Two of them of defensive tackles [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] and [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag]. The other is [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag], one of two tight ends to make the watch list. A tight end has never won this award, so Evans would make history if he went home with the hardware.

Notre Dame has had five players win this award, tied for the second most of any school. [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] was the last player to win it in 2012. That being the case, the Irish are overdue for another winner, so let’s watch one of these gentlemen be the next one for them.

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Notre Dame’s Rylie Mills throws out first pitch before baseball game

He probably won’t switch sports because of this, but it’s an interesting thought.

Earlier this summer, Notre Dame defensive end [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] was one of three university athletes to sign NIL deals with the Chicago White Sox. As part of the deal, Mills and the others were allowed to throw out the first pitch before a game. Mills’ time came Sunday before the White Sox faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in the last game before the MLB All-Star break:

Mills grew up in nearby Lake Bluff, Illinois, so it makes sense that he would sign a NIL deal with a local professional team. However, his presence at Guaranteed Rate Field was not enough for the White Sox on this day as they suffered a 9-4 loss, their record 71st defeat before the All-Star break.

While Mills surely is getting some decent money from the White Sox, it’s unfortunate that he signed this deal at a time when the team is historically bad. Alas, you must go where the money leads you in this NIL era.

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Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts named third-best safety in college football

Time for him to go out and prove it.

Notre Dame figures to rely on its defense once again to win football games in 2024. It’s hard to dispute that given that there’s some future NFL talent on that side of the ball. Among that talent is safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag], who many currently project to be taken as high as the third round in the 2025 draft.

Big Game Boomer, college football’s list aficionado on social media, has released his list of the top 50 safeties in college football entering the upcoming season. Let’s just say Watts will be the best safety on either side of the ball at least during every regular-season game for the Irish this year:

Big Game Boomer already had reserved spots on his respective position lists for [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag], [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and [autotag]RJ Oben[/autotag]. Most recently, he has put transfer Jordan Clark on his nickel/slot corners list:

So yeah, this defense is gonna be good. Let’s hope the offense can support it.

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