Notre Dame football should have a much healthier offense for Saturday's game at No. 25 Louisville (5-0) than it did in Saturday's 21-14 win at then-No. 17 Duke.
The No. 10 Irish (5-1) expect to have junior wide receiver Jayden Thomas, freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and sophomore tight end Eli Raridon available for Saturday's game (7:30 p.m. EDT on ABC), ND head coach Marcus Freeman said Monday.
Thomas, who suffered a hamstring injury against Ohio State, leads all Notre Dame wide receivers in catches this season with 13 for 195 yards and one touchdown. Tight end Mitchell Evans, with 18, is the only Notre Dame player with more receptions than Thomas this season.
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Greathouse, who suffered a hamstring injury in practice last week, is second in wide receiver catches with 12 for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Holden Staes, with four, is the only Notre Dame player with more touchdown receptions than Greathouse this season.
Raridon has been sidelined recovering from a second ACL tear in his right knee that he suffered last October. Raridon played in five games prior to the injury but did not record a catch. He's expected to be in the mix as a third or fourth tight end with junior Davis Sherwood behind Evans and Staes.
Sophomore linebacker Nolan Ziegler, who took time away from the team to focus on his mental health earlier this season, may also be available for the Irish moving forward, Freeman said. Ziegler entered the preseason as the No. 2 option at mike linebacker behind JD Bertrand but will likely need more work to regain that spot on the depth chat.
Notre Dame doesn't expect injured wide receivers Matt Salerno (leg) and KK Smith (shoulder) back anytime soon. Freeman didn't rule out a return for Salerno before the end of the season.
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