Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly had a succinct summary about entering this weekend’s contest at No. 25-ranked North Carolina (6-2) without two of his starting offensive linemen.
“We lose a couple of really good players and we plug them in with two equally fine players,” said Kelly during his weekly Monday conference. "We’re excited about their opportunities.”
The two lost were junior center Jarrett Patterson, who suffered a foot injury against Boston College Nov. 14 that will sideline him the balance of this season and spring practice, and fifth-year senior right guard Tommy Kraemer, who underwent an emergency appendectomy during the bye week.
Because Kraemer’s surgery was laparoscopic and the appendix didn’t burst, he is projected to return to action sometime in December.
Replacing them at North Carolina will be sophomore Zeke Correll at center and senior Josh Lugg at right guard — with Lugg also the next option at center.
The 6-7, 310-pound Lugg has been labeled the Swiss Army Knife and “sixth man” along the line by Kelly because of his ability to line up at any of the positions. Last year when right tackle Robert Hainsey suffered a season-ending injury on Nov. 2 during the opening series against Virginia Tech, Lugg stepped in for him and also started the final five games.
“He’s ready to play and compete at a high level,” said Kelly of Lugg.
Correll redshirted last year as a freshman because, per Kelly, he was only 265 pounds. Ranked the No. 114 prospect overall in the country in 2019, the 6-3 Correll is listed now at 295, although Kelly said he most recently weighed in at 288, not far from Patterson’s 294 going into the Boston College game.
“He was in the process of developing a coat of armor,” said Kelly of Correll’s work with strength and conditioning coach Matt Balis. “He’s quick, he can snap the football, he’s very smart, very good pass protector … we like what he’s doing.”
Under third-year offensive line coach Jeff Quinn, the unit earlier today earned a selection to the 2020 Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll, a distinction that annually honors the “toughest, most physical offensive line in the country.”
This marks the second consecutive season in which the Irish have been named to the midseason honor roll. Notre Dame won the award in 2017, which is named after the 1988-96 Fighting Irish offensive line coach.
"We want to be who we are," said Kelly of going against a team that is averaging 43 points per game. "We want to be physical, we want to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball — that's how we play. They're going to play how they play. The most important thing in this game is who can keep the points down."
Notre Dame is one of three Power 5 teams to post three performances of 36:15 or more possession time this season. No other FBS teams have produced more than three games this season with at least 36:15 in possession time, and Notre Dame has won the time of possession battle in seven of eight games.
The Irish lead the ACC in fewest sacks allowed (13) and are also tied for second in the ACC in rushing offense (233.5 yards per game) with a 208-yard rushing performance vs. then No. 1 Clemson on Nov. 7 and 274 yards at Boston College the ensuing week.
The award’s voting committee is composed of college football experts, especially those who played or coached the offensive line position. The founder is 1990-93 Irish lineman Aaron Taylor, a two-time consensus All-American under Moore who became a first-round pick.
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