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The #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish welcome the USC Trojans to Notre Dame Stadium for a prime time matchup. It’s the Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh, and after 90 years of war, the Irish lead the series 48-37-5. Brian Kelly is 6-3 against the Trojans and is riding a 2 game winning streak.
The Irish released their depth chart for Saturday, and there was a decent amount of change heading into this rivalry game.
OFFENSE
Notre Dame *way too early* Depth Chart — Offense
| WR | TE | LT | LG | C | RG | RT | WR | WR | RB | QB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | TE | LT | LG | C | RG | RT | WR | WR | RB | QB |
| 25 Braden Lenzy | 89 Brock Wright | 74 Liam Eichenberg | 69 Aaron Banks | 55 Jarrett Patterson | 78 Tommy Kraemer | 72 Robert Hainsey | 13 Lawrence Keys | 4 Kevin Austin | 8 Jafar Armstrong | 12 Ian Book |
| Fr Jordan Johnson | OR 24 Tommy Tremble | 73 Andrew Kristofic | 76 Dillan Gibbons | 61 Colin Grunhard | 56 John Dirksen | 75 Josh Lugg | 18 Joe Wilkins | Tr Ben Skowronek | 34 Jahmir Smith | 7 Brendon Clark |
| - | Fr Michael Mayer | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 C'Bo Flemister | Fr Drew Pyne |
| - | OR George Takacs | - | - | - | - | - | - | OR Fr Chris Tyree | - | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | OR 23 Kyren Williams | - |
Although it’s still not official, the Irish have Jafar Armstrong back this week and he is listed at #2 on the depth chart. Kyren Williams is being shutdown for the year as a redshirt, so his absence last week was for that reason. Lawrence Keys III is back this week and takes his spot behind Chris Finke with Michael Young and Chase Claypool on the outside.
DEFENSE
Notre Dame *way too early* Depth Chart — Defense
| CB | FS | ROVER | DE | NG | DT | DE | BUCK | MIKE | SS | CB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | FS | ROVER | DE | NG | DT | DE | BUCK | MIKE | SS | CB |
| 20 Shaun Crawford | 14 Kyle Hamilton | 13 Paul Moala | 9 Daelin Hayes | 41 Kurt Hinish | 95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa | 91 Ade Ogundeji | 6 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | 40 Drew White | Tr Isaiah Pryor | 28 TaRiq Bracy |
| 16 KJ Wallace | 12 DJ Brown | 24 Jack Kiser | 29 Ovie Oghoufo | 54 Jacob Lacey | 57 Jayson Ademilola | 19 Justin Ademilola | 2 Jordan Genmark Heath | 52 Bo Bauer | 3 Houston Griffith | 15 Isaiah Rutherford |
| 9 Cam Hart | - | - | 94 Isaiah Foskey | 55 Ja'mion Franklin | 90 Hunter Spears | 18 NaNa Osafo-Mensah | - | - | - | 4 Avery Davis |
There is a ton of movement on this side of the ball. Jamir Jones is rightfully placed at the SHARK behind Julian Okwara while Justin Ademilola was moved over to the STRONG defensive end. There is a shakeup at linebacker where Bo Bauer and Shayne Simon are the clear (no OR) backups to Drew White and Asmar Bilal at the MIKE and BUCK respectively. Houston Griffith is now the backup to Jalen Elliott after moving from corner, and Cam Hart is now Troy Pride’s backup on the depth chart at corner after being moved from WR. D.J. Brown is the 3rd safety listed at both spots. Time will tell how true the depth chart is to reality.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Notre Dame *way too early* Depth Chart — Special Teams
| KICKOFF | PLACEKICKER | PUNTER | LONG SNAPPER | HOLDER | PUNT RETURNER | KICK RETURNER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KICKOFF | PLACEKICKER | PUNTER | LONG SNAPPER | HOLDER | PUNT RETURNER | KICK RETURNER |
| 39 Jonathan Doerer | 39 Jonathan Doerer | 19 Jay Bramblett | Fr Alex Peitsch | 19 Jay Bramblett | 18 Joe Wilkins | 25 Braden Lenzy |
| 98 Harrison Leonard | 98 Harrison Leonard | 98 Harrison Leonard | 65 Michael Vinson | 14 J.D. Carney | 23 Kyren Williams | 20 C'Bo Flemister |
The one change here is at kick returner where the Irish have seemingly swapped bodies every game this year. Lawrence Keys and Joe Wilkins are the kick returners, but both have already been there before. This is the result of the Kyren Williams shelving.