Back in the Trenches: Ashton Craig Set to Lead Notre Dame’s OL After Injury
Notre Dame football kicks off in just 24 days, and with it comes the return of starting center Ashton Craig, who missed most of the 2024 season with an ACL injury.
The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder started the first three games last fall before suffering the injury against Purdue, but Craig didn’t pout and feel sorry for himself.
Craig went to work in his rehab and helping the offensive line in any way he could.
“You have to sit back and take a deep breath and be like, ‘Dang, that sucks,’ but the team still needs me,” stated Craig. “I kind of stepped into a different role after I went down. I just wanted to help all my teammates, all the offensive linemen, just trying to go through cutups, trying to get that extra edge for them. I just tried to help them throughout the season.
And yes, Craig admits it was tough at times to be on the sideline as Notre Dame made its first appearance in the title game since 2012, but the goal is to return in a few months.
“It’s a special opportunity to make it all the way to the national championship and it sucks to be on the sideline, but I’m really confident in our group we have this year,” Craig said. “I think we could go back for sure.”
Despite not being able to play during the playoff run, the Indiana native was right in the thick of it with his guys, which has led to the confidence heading into this season.
“I didn’t lose anything being with the guys,” explained Craig. “I’m always with the guys. We live together. We’re a close-knit group. We’re going through everything with everybody, even if you’re hurt or you’re not playing. Everybody gets a piece. That’s what Coach Freeman says. Everybody has to bring something. Everybody is doing something, even if it’s something little that you can’t really see. Everybody’s coming along, bringing them all together. We all feel pretty close and ready to go.”
The biggest hurdle in Craig’s recovery wasn’t physical. It was mental. Trusting his knee again took time, but by the start of summer workouts, it clicked.
“The beginning of summer, I was like, all right, I’m ready to go,” stated Craig. “Coming back that first day of summer, I was like, I can do everything, I’m ready to go. Doing all the walk-throughs, doing everything in the lifts, keeping the foot on the gas, trying to get rehab every day. I feel good going into fall camp, having a good layer of summer, a good base of summer, getting my strength back in my legs.”
Missing time wasn’t the plan, but Craig made the most of it. Craig made sure to do everything he could to gain strength and improve his game while being away from the field.
“I think my hands have gotten a lot better, also my upper body strength,” Craig explained. “Having that lower body injury, you go into the weight room and you do your leg workouts and you have upper body to hit. You try to work on everything else you could be better for the next season. I can tell now in fall camp my hands feel better and stronger in pass pro and things like that.”
In addition to working himself back, Craig will be tasked with bringing along a new right guard. Sullivan Absher will get the first crack at it and Craig couldn’t speak more highly of the 6-foot-8, 327-pounder.
“Sully, we hang out outside of practice all the time,” Craig said. “We’ve been golfing. All the O-linemen are a close group. We bump knuckles at the line like, ‘Here we go.’ Sullivan is a great player. He’s a really long player, plays with a lot of length. You guys can see that on film. Once he gets the length, he’s very powerful. He can pass off games really well in pass pro. Sullivan’s really good.”
As the heart and soul of the offensive line, Craig also has his eye on earning a captain role in 2025.
“I’m always out there,” said Craig. “I’m putting guys in direction, leading the guys up front. I want to be one of those guys they can count on and look up to and be a captain, a leader of this football team.
“I know there’s a lot of guys who want that and are feeding into that role. On this whole team, we have a lot of leaders and they lead in their own way. It would be an honor to be one of those captains for sure.”
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