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Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman provides injury update on Zeke Correll, three others Monday

Kyle Kellyby:Kyle Kelly11/20/23

ByKyleKelly

freemancorrell
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman watches graduate center Zeke Correll during practice on Aug. 16 in South Bend. (Chad Weaver, Blue & Gold)

Notre Dame football could have their starting center back on Saturday when they take on Stanford. In his weekly Monday news conference, coach Marcus Freeman said they expect graduate student Zeke Correll back this week. 

The 6-foot-3, 306-pound Correll suffered a concussion during Notre Dame’s 31-23 loss to Clemson on Nov. 4. He played 32 snaps against the Tigers. Although Freeman said they expect Correll to return to the lineup this week, Freeman also noted that Correll is still in concussion protocol and was not close to playing last Saturday against Wake Forest. 

Before his injury, Correll had started the last 23 games for the Irish. He also earned the first nod six times in 2021. 

In the wide receiver department, Freeman said junior Jayden Thomas was not at full strength Saturday. The 6-1 1/2, 221-pound Thomas only played 10 snaps and did not record any statistics. He continues to deal with a hamstring injury that has affected him for most of the 2023 season. 

“(Thomas) is still progressing to his full 100%,” Freeman said. “When he is 100%, he can still help us on offense.” 

Thomas initially injured his hamstring injury in the third quarter of Notre Dame’s 17-14 loss to Ohio State on Sept. 23. He missed the following week against Duke on Sept. 30 and most recently for the Clemson game.

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Between the five weeks of the Duke and Clemson games, Thomas played 35 snaps on Oct. 7 against Louisville and caught 2 passes for 33 yards. But then, on Oct. 14 versus Southern California, he only played 6 snaps and did not register any statistics. He only logged 11 snaps in the Oct. 28 Pittsburgh game before not playing against Clemson.

Thomas has 17 receptions, 251 receiving yards and 1 touchdown on the season. 

Fellow junior Deion Colzie is still unavailable after having an arthroscopic knee surgery. The 6-4 1/4, 210-pound Colzie has not played since the Central Michigan game on Sept. 16. He had 3 catches for 45 yards and 1 touchdown in his first three games.

Lastly, graduate student Matt Salerno is still working his way back from a lower leg injury he sustained in the Tennessee State game on Sept. 2. Freeman said last week was Salerno’s first one with live action and that they were able to get him in during those practice periods.

This week’s game against Stanford kicks off at 7 p.m. EST. The Pac-12 Network will televise the game. 

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