The Notre Dame official depth chart got a shakeup at center on Monday. And the short-term answer to center Ashton Craig’s season-ending left knee injury may not be the same as the long-term answer.

For now, though, redshirt sophomore Joe Ottling moves into that No. 1 spot, just as he did last Saturday when Craig went down late in ND’s 36-7 victory over NC State. The 6-foot-4, 308-pound redshirt sophomore played 21 snaps, and garnered a film grade score of 56.1 from Pro Football Focus, which is slightly lower than default average score.

Another option head coach Marcus Freeman could turn to is 6-7, 322-pound redshirt sophomore Sullivan Absher, primarily the backup right guard but who cross-trained at center in the spring.

The 13th-ranked Irish (4-2) host No. 20 USC (5-1) on Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium (7:30 EDT on NBC/Peacock), with the Trojans featuring one of the strongest pass rushes in the country. USC ranks seventh in sacks nationally and 12th in tackles for loss.

Listed as questionable for the USC game are starting nickel DeVonta Smith (calf), starting slot receiver Jaden Greathouse (thigh), key backup tight end Cooper Flanagan (Achilles) and deep backup offensive lineman, freshman Will Black (concussion).

At Blue & Gold, we’re committed to a depth chart projection on Mondays, and anytime there’s a change. The difference is we’ll go beyond the two-deeps for the Irish.

A few things to note. Players with an -x after their names have been ruled out for the season. Players with -y have been ruled out for at least the upcoming game. Players with -q were listed as questionable in Thursday’s official availability report from Notre Dame. OR denotes players tied for a spot on the depth chart.

With Notre Dame shifting to eligibility year as its primary identifier this season for the first time ever, we will follow that lead, but clarify between a redshirt freshman, for instance, and a true freshman.

Heights and weights were refreshed at the start of preseason camp on July 31.

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE

Field Receiver

6Jordan Faison5-10185Junior11KK Smith6-0176RS Sophomore17Elijah Burress6-0185Freshman

Slot Receiver

2Will Pauling5-10190RS Senior1Jaden Greathouse6-1215Junior19Logan Saldate6-0189RS Freshman81Scrap Richardson6-0190Freshman

Left Tackle

54Anthonie Knapp6-4300Sophomore71Styles Prescod6-6292RS Freshman

Left Guard

74Billy Schrauth6-4310RS Junior55Chris Terek6-6322RS Sophomore65Will Black6-7307Freshman52Devan Houstan6-4307RS Sophomore

Center

64Joe Otting6-4308RS Sophomore57Cam Herring6-2285Freshman55Chris Terek6-6322RS Sophomore70Ashton Craig=x6-5310RS Junior

Right Guard

76Guerby Lambert6-7335RS Freshman75Sullivan Absher6-8327RS Sophomore77Peter Jones-y6-5312RS Freshman56Charles Jagusah-y6-7333RS Sophomore

Right Tackle

59Aamil Wagner6-6300RS Junior76Guerby Lambert6-7335RS Freshman58Matty Augustine6-7310Freshman78Owen Strebig6-8300Freshman

Tight End

9Eli Raridon6-7252Senior7Ty Washington6-4248RS Junior85Jack Larsen6-3250RS Freshman88James Flanigan6-5241Freshman87Cooper Flanagan-q6-6255Junior84Kevin Bauman-x6-5250RS Senior

Boundary Receiver

0Malachi Fields6-4222RS Senior5Cam Williams6-2200RS Freshman15Jerome Bettis Jr.6-1207Freshman14Micah Gilbert-y6-2204RS Freshman

Quarterback

13CJ Carr6-3210RS Freshman8Kenny Minchey6-2208RS Sophomore10Tyler Buchner6-1206RS Senior12Blake Hebert6-3225Freshman

Running Back

4Jeremiyah Love6-0214Junior24Jadarian Price5-11210RS Junior22Aneyas Williams5-10205Sophomore23Nolan James5-10215Freshman3Gi’Bran Payne5-10205RS Junior21Kedren Young-x5-11240RS Freshman

NOTRE DAME DEFENSE

Left Defensive End

5Boubacar Traore6-4250RS Sophomore44Junior Tuihalamaka6-2255Senior10Loghan Thomas6-4220Sophomore25Preston Zinter6-2240RS Sophomore30Dominik Hulak6-4245RS Freshman

Defensive Tackle

97Gabe Rubio6-5321RS Senior57Jason Onye6-5302RS Senior42Cole Mullins6-5275RS Freshman88Armel Mukam6-3306RS Sophomore17Brenan Vernon6-6305RS Sophomore91Gordy Sulfsted6-5260Freshman

Nose Guard

41Donovan Hinish6-2277RS Junior93Jared Dawson6-1288RS Senior56Elijah Hughes6-3300Junior59Sean Sevillano Jr.6-2340RS Freshman60Davion Dixon6-2324Freshman

Right Defensive End

12Jordan Botelho6-3260RS Senior95Bryce Young6-7271Sophomore40Josh Burnham6-4260RS Junior33Christopher Burgess Jr.6-4275Freshman94Joe Reiff6-5258Freshman

Middle Linebacker

34Drayk Bowen6-2235Junior27Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa6-3230Sophomore19Madden Faraimo6-2235Freshman36Bodie Kahoun6-2230RS Freshman39Anthony Sacca6-3240Freshman

Weakside Linebacker

4Jaiden Ausberry6-2228RS Sophomore3Jaylen Sneed6-2230RS Junior19Madden Faraimo6-2235Freshman43Kahanu Kia6-2230RS Sophomore

Rover

19Madden Faraimo6-2235Freshman35Teddy Rezac6-3220RS Freshman45Ko’o Kia6-2220Freshman

Field Cornerback

6Christian Gray6-0190Junior24Mark Zackery IV5-11175Freshman20Cree Thomas6-1189Freshman

Field Safety

9Tae Johnson6-2192RS Freshman7Jalen Stroman6-1201RS Senior11JaDon Blair6-5205Freshman22Ethan Long6-3210Freshman29Brandon Logan-x6-0197Freshman

Boundary Safety

8Adon Shuler6-0205RS Sophomore28Luke Talich6-4210Junior22Ethan Long6-3210Freshman31Taebron Bennie-Powell6-1185RS Freshman

Boundary Cornerback

15Leonard Moore6-2195Sophomore18Chance Tucker6-0189RS Senior21Karson Hobbs6-1185Sophomore

Nickel

0Devonta Smith-q5-11195Redshirt Senior14Dallas Golden6-0187Freshman21Karson Hobbs6-1185Sophomore13Ben Minich6-0197RS Sophomore

NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS

Place Kicker

98Noah Burnette5-10185RS Senior18Erik Schmidt6-2210Freshman48Marcello Diomede6-1195Junior

Punter

16James Rendell6-6225RS Senior18Erik Schmidt6-2210Freshman

Kickoffs

18Eric Schmidt6-2210Freshman98Noah Burnette5-10185RS Senior48Marcello Diomede6-1195Junior

Long Snapper

96Joe Vinci6-4232RS Freshman49Andrew Kros6-4225Junior

Holder

10Tyler Buchner6-1206RS Senior16Anthony Rezac6-3201RS Freshman

Kickoff Returns

24Jadarian Price5-11210RS Junior4Jeremiyah Love6-0214Junior2Will Pauling5-10190RS Senior3Gi’Bran Payne5-10205RS Junior

Punt Returns

6Jordan Faison5-10185Junior2Will Pauling5-10190RS Senior14Dallas Golden6-0187Freshman22Aneyas Williams5-10205Sophomore1Jaden Greathouse6-1215Junior