Notre Dame WR Avery Davis out for the season with ACL injury
Notre Dame wide receiver Avery Davis can’t catch a break. On Saturday, Notre Dame announced Davis suffered an ACL injury to his right knee in practice on Friday. He previously tore his left ACL in November 2021, ending his year prematurely. The latest setback will sideline him for 2022.
Davis posted 27 catches for 386 yards and four touchdowns in 2021 prior to the injury. His top Irish football moments came against Clemson in 2020 when Davis caught a 53-yard pass to set up a subsequent 4-yard score, tying the game at 33-33 and sending it to overtime. Notre Dame topped No. 1 Clemson 47-40 in double overtime that night.
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The Texas native has played four positions — receiver, running back, quarterback and defensive back — for the Irish and made five position switches over the course of his lengthy Irish career. He had been practicing with the first team wideouts in camp thus far, although it was unconfirmed exactly where he might fit come game day.
As far as character goes, it’s hard to find someone more well-respected than Davis, per the Irish staff. He served as a 2021 captain and was leading a stretching line in fall camp to this point, a decent sign that he would earn the honor once again.
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“We’ve had a lot of guys that garner respect over my last five and a half years here,” offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said last weekend. “He might garner as much respect as any player in that locker room that I’ve seen.”
Technically, Davis could petition the NCAA for a seventh season of eligibility; he redshirted his freshman season, has a blanket COVID-19 waiver and will miss 2022. Obviously, it would need to be granted to occur, but Davis has only played three seasons of college football to this point, excluding the COVID-19 year.
As far as the bigger picture goes, Notre Dame is dealing with massive depth issues at wide receiver. Including Davis, the Irish have just eight scholarship wideouts, including a true freshman in Tobias Merriweather and a former walk-on in Matt Salerno. Fifth-year receiver Joe Wilkins Jr. is also expected to miss the Ohio State opener while he continues to recover from foot surgery. Finally, sophomore wideout Deion Colzie was seen on Friday at practice in a knee brace, although Notre Dame has not clarified his situation.
