PALO ALTO, Calif. — On Monday, Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman said he expected Zeke Correll back from a concussion that sidelined him Nov. 4 against Clemson.
On Saturday, the program announced its starting center was not ready to return. Correll won't be available to play against Stanford (3-8) in Stanford Stadium (7 p.m. EST on Pac-12 Network).
The Irish will rely on sophomore center Ashton Craig to make his second career start. Craig made his starting debut last week in a 45-7 victory over Wake Forest. He also played center in the 31-23 loss to Clemson after Correll's concussion and graduate senior Andrew Kristofic suffered a high ankle sprain.
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After the game was underway, the Notre Dame sports information department tweeted out that after going through warmups, sophomore tight end Holden Staes had been ruled out for the game with a shoulder injury.
Freeman did mention Monday, the last time he spoke to reporters this week, that Correll remained in concussion protocol that day. He needed to clear it to return to practice. Correll started 23 consecutive games at center prior to the Wake Forest game.
"We have a lot of confidence in Ashton," Freeman said Monday. "I’ve seen it in practice. I’ve seen it just from talking with [offensive line] coach [Joe] Rudolph. I’m really proud of the way he performed in his opportunity he had here on Saturday. I’m really positive about the outlook of our future at the center position.”
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