The injuries on Notre Dame's defense keep coming.
Freshman linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was added to Notre Dame football's injury report Monday after being knocked out of Saturday's 49-14 win over Army due to a knee injury. Viliamu-Asa has been declared out with a sprained right knee. The Irish are preparing to play at USC (6-5) in their regular season finale Saturday (3:30 p.m. EST on CBS).
Viliamu-Asa made his first career start against Army before his injury in the first half. He's one of just four freshmen on Notre Dame's roster to play in each of the first 11 games this season. Left tackle Anthonie Knapp, cornerback Leonard Moore and defensive end Bryce Young are the others.
Viliamu-Asa recorded 29 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries this season. Notre Dame's linebacker rotation will likely shorten in Viliamu-Asa's absence. Junior Jaylen Sneed and sophomore Jaiden Ausberry will continue to get reps behind starters Jack Kiser and Drayk Bowen.
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Starting nose tackle Howard Cross III remains listed as questionable this week. Cross has been dealing with a left ankle injury since the Florida State game on Nov. 9 and missed the last two games. Cross practiced some last week, so a return to play this week should be realistic. He recorded 23 tackles, four sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries in the first nine games of the season.
Notre Dame will also be without reserve linebacker Bodie Kahoun, who suffered a right lower leg injury. Kahoun played in the last three games and made one tackle.
Head coach Marcus Freeman shared that sophomore wide receiver KK Smith's collarbone injury, which forced him to miss the Army game, will require a recovery of 4-6 weeks. Smith has appeared in six games and caught three passes for 38 yards this season.
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A pair of players not on Notre Dame's depth chart aren't expected to be available once again: senior defensive tackle Jason Onye and freshman quarterback CJ Carr. Onye hasn't played since the fifth game of the season against Louisville. He's been away from the team dealing with a "personal issue." Carr, who is recovering from a right elbow injury, resumed throwing earlier this month.
Notre Dame has lost five starters to season-ending injuries this year: cornerback Benjamin Morrison (hip), vyper Jordan Botelho (knee), center Ashton Craig (knee), left tackle Charles Jagusah (shoulder) and vyper Boubacar Traore (knee).
Notre Dame previously declared many other players out for the season: walk-on CB Marty Auer (knee), walk-on DL Quentin Autry (shoulder), S Taebron Bennie-Powell (shoulder), walk-on CB Charles Du (shoulder), LB Kahanu Kia (knee), RB Gi'Bran Payne (knee), OL Styles Prescod (shoulder) and CB Chance Tucker (knee).
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