Ashton Craig’s Notre Dame story started in chaos, and it may still be headed toward another pivotal turn.
Back on Nov. 4, 2023, the redshirt freshman was thrust into Clemson’s Memorial Stadium as a reserve guard and emergency third-string center. That’s where things went sideways for the Irish in a hurry: starter Zeke Correll and utility offensive lineman Andrew Kristofic both went down, and Craig suddenly found himself in the middle of first-team action in one of the toughest places to play in college football.
Notre Dame lost that game 31-23, but Craig’s performance wasn’t the issue. He held up well enough to earn more trust right away, starting the final three games of the season, including the Sun Bowl in late December after Correll had cleared concussion protocol.
“We lost two centers in, shoot, I don't know how many plays, like maybe four or five plays," offensive line coach Joe Rudolph said. "And he went in and, man, he did a heck of a job and held that position down from that point on.”
That’s the version of Craig Notre Dame has seen at his best. The problem is getting him on the field long enough to stay there.
Over the past two seasons, Craig has battled a torn left ACL twice, and that has kept him from building the kind of uninterrupted run the Irish clearly wanted. In both of those campaigns, he started the first three and six games before the injury shut him down for the next several months.
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Gray has made it clear he understands the challenge and believes he can handle it, even as he leans on former Notre Dame defenders Jordan Clark and Devonta Smith for advice. For the Irish, that kind of adjustment matters because the nickel role often ends up being one of the defenses most demanding jobs, especially when the front and secondary have to stay in sync. Grays confidence is a good sign, but the real test will come once the speed of the position starts forcing decisions in real time. [Read more 🡒]