Notre Dame releases depth chart for Gator Bowl vs. South Carolina
No. 21 Notre Dame has revealed its two-deep for the Dec. 30 Gator Bowl vs. No. 19 South Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Here’s a position-by-position rundown of the starters and backups listed.
Quarterback
Starter: Tyler Buchner (Soph.) or Steve Angeli (Fr.)
Ten-game starter Drew Pyne entered the transfer portal Dec. 5. Buchner is making his first start since Sept. 10, when he suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery and ended his regular season.
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Running back
Starter(s): Chris Tyree (Jr.), or Audric Estime (So.), or Logan Diggs (So.)
Diggs has started seven games, Tyree six and Estime two.
Wide receiver
Starter: Jayden Thomas (So.)
No. 2: Matt Salerno (Gr.)
Wide receiver
Starter: Lorenzo Styles (So.)
No. 2: Deion Colzie (So.)
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Wide receiver
Starter: Braden Lenzy (Gr.)
No. 2: Tobias Merriweather (Fr.)
Merriweather missed the last three regular-season games with a concussion.
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Tight end
Starter: Mitchell Evans (So.)
No. 2: Holden Staes (Fr.)
No. 3: Davis Sherwood (So.)
Starter and leading receiver Michael Mayer declared for the NFL Draft and will not play in the bowl.
Left tackle
Starter: Joe Alt (So.)
No. 2: Tosh Baker (Jr.)
Left guard
Starter(s): Jarrett Patterson (Gr.)
No. 2: Andrew Kristofic (Sr.)
Center
Starter: Zeke Correll (Sr.)
No. 2: Pat Coogan (So.)
Right guard
Starter: Josh Lugg (Gr.)
No. 2: Rocco Spindler (So.)
Right tackle
Starter: Blake Fisher (So.)
No. 2: Michael Carmody (Jr.)
Vyper
Starter: Justin Ademilola (Gr.) or Jordan Botelho (Jr.)
Starter and sacks leader Isaiah Foskey declared for the draft and won’t play in the bowl.
Strong-side defensive end
Starter: Rylie Mills (Jr.)
No. 2: Nana Osafo-Mensah (Sr.)
No. 3: Alex Ehrensberger (Jr.)
Ademilola started the last five games here.
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Three-technique tackle
Starter: Jayson Ademilola (Gr.)
No. 2: Chris Smith (Gr.)
Nose tackle
Starter: Howard Cross III (Sr.)
No. 2: Gabriel Rubio (So.)
Will linebacker
Starter: Marist Liufau (Sr.)
No. 2: Jack Kiser (Sr.) or Prince Kollie (So.)
Mike linebacker
Starter(s): JD Bertrand (Sr.)
No. 2: Junior Tuihalamaka (Fr.)
Rover
Starter: Jack Kiser (Sr.)
No. 2: Bertrand
Kiser has started only five games, a result of Notre Dame playing more nickel defense this year.
Left safety
Starter(s): Houston Griffith (Gr.) or DJ Brown (Gr.)
Brown has started nine games, and Griffith two. Junior Xavier Watts started over both vs. USC.
Right safety
Starter(s): Brandon Joseph (Sr.) or Ramon Henderson (Jr.)
Joseph started the first nine games before missing the last two with an ankle sprain.
Cornerback
Starter(s): TaRiq Bracy (Gr.)
No. 2: Jaden Mickey (Fr.)
Ten-game starter Cam Hart will not play due to a shoulder injury that also held him out of the regular-season finale at USC. Mickey (field) and Bracy (slot) both started that game with Notre Dame in nickel.
Cornerback
Starter(s): Benjamin Morrison (Fr.)
No. 2: Clarence Lewis (Jr.)
Specialists (starters only)
Place kicker: Blake Grupe (Gr.)
Punter: Jon Sot (Gr.)
Holder: Sot
Long Snapper: Michael Vinson (Gr.)
Kickoff specialist: Zac Yoakam (Fr.)
Kick returner: Tyree
Punt returner: Joseph
