Wide receiver depth is a concern for Notre Dame after yet another season-ending injury. Sixth-year receiver Avery Davis suffered a season-ending ACL injury to his right knee during Friday's practice, the team announced Saturday.
The latest injury leaves the Fighting Irish with just seven healthy scholarship wide receivers, only five of whom were a full-go during Friday's practice.
Sophomores Lorenzo Styles and Jayden Thomas are expected to start at wide receiver. Graduate seniors Braden Lenzy and Matt Salerno, senior Conor Ratigan, sophomore Deion Colzie and four-star freshman Tobias Merriweather will now compete for the third starting spot that has been left vacant by Davis. Notre Dame also has Michael Mayer, one of the best tight ends in the country, who finished with 71 catches for 840 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore last season.
After making the transition from quarterback to wide receiver as a freshman, Davis has totaled 66 catches for 862 yards and eight touchdowns in his career, including 27 receptions for 386 yards and four touchdowns in eight games last season. He had the most receiving yards in 2021 among all returning Notre Dame wide receivers.
A projected starter and captain for the 2022 season, Davis was expected to be an inspirational story for Notre Dame. The wideout suffered a season-ending ACL injury to his left knee in 2021 and returned to the field just 7.5 months following the injury to prepare for this upcoming season.
Notre Dame lost four-star freshman running back Jadarian Price after he suffered an Achilles tendon rupture just over two months ago, leaving the Fighting Irish with just three healthy running backs. So at two of the most important position groups on offense, Marcus Freeman's team is lacking depth with the season just three weeks from kicking off.
Notre Dame is set to take on Ohio State in Columbus in 21 days. The top-five showdown to begin the season will kick off at 7:30 on Sept. 3.
Source: @NDFootballPR
