Notre Dame football injury report: Who's in, out for Fighting Irish vs. Virginia?
Notre Dame will be without one of its most important defensive players against Virginia. Graduate senior defensive tackle Howard Cross III is out with an ankle injury.
That’s been known since Monday. He got injured against Florida State last week and did not return. The Irish are hoping to get him healthy for the Army game next weekend and beyond.
What about other Notre Dame players who were questionable going into Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff against the Cavaliers? The university released details on them one hour prior to kickoff.
Graduate senior running back Devyn Ford is out with a right groin injury. Graduate senior cornerback Max Hurleman and freshman defensive end Loghan Thomas were dealing with hamstring issues this week, but they are both available to play — as is every other player on Notre Dame’s normal two-deep depth chart aside from Cross and Ford.
Ford is fourth among Notre Dame running backs in offensive snaps with his third-down role being overtaken a bit by freshman Aneyas Williams, who should play an even larger role today with Ford out, but he ranks sixth among all Irish players in special teams appearances according to Pro Football Focus. He’s played on all four kick and punt return units, primarily appearing as a kick coverage man.
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Hurleman is also a special teams staple. Nobody on the Irish roster has logged more special teams appearances than the walk-on from Colgate. He’s been serving as Notre Dame’s No. 1 punt returner while also showing up across the board in the third phase just like Ford. Hurleman has played in every game this season on special teams.
Continuing the theme of special teamers who were on the fence for today’s game, Thomas has played the third most special teams plays of any Notre Dame player. Considering the Irish’s injury-ridden circumstances along the defensive line, he’s also a candidate to receive at least a few a meaningful snaps for coordinator Al Golden when healthy.
Ford is missing his first game of the season. Thomas missed the Florida State game last week with his hamstring injury. Head coach Marcus Freeman said Monday he felt the prognosis by the end of the week would be more positive for the freshman, and he ended up being correct.
It’ll be intriguing to see if Thomas factors in on the defensive side this afternoon. He’s already burned his redshirt through so much special teams playing time, so there is every reason to cut him loose and possibly groom him as a pass-rush specialist for the stretch run of the season.
