When Notre Dame kicks off its season on Sunday night, a few positions remain unsettled. But quarterback CJ Carr may have already pointed to the clearest clue yet about who will start at right guard.
On the official depth chart, the Fighting Irish list Styles Prescod “or” Sullivan Absher at right guard. But when Carr talked about how he and the offensive line unit are meshing, he may have given the game away: "We have a bunch of returning guys, a bunch of guys who’ve played a bunch of ball with Knapp and Craig and Guerby and some new guys obviously in there with Will (Black) and Styles (Prescod) ... "
It’s possible that the Notre Dame quarterback was simply describing the players he had mostly practiced with recently, and that Prescod took the last snaps in that group. But Sullivan Absher wasn’t mentioned at all, which further suggests who will get the first snaps for the Irish on Sunday night.
This is one of those sneak peeks that Carr probably didn’t even realize he was giving when he was talking to the media earlier this week. He’s far more focused on what he’s supposed to be doing with the other starters, and less focused on hiding a secret that the coaches are trying to keep under wraps.
Notre Dame football QB CJ Carr hints Styles Prescod could start at right guard
It’s also possible that, since the depth chart was released, Prescod has shown the coaches a little more than Absher. With the list coming out on Monday, there’s still time to stake a claim to the starting job. The “or” is, after all, a way for the coaching staff to signal they aren’t entirely sold on who will line up on the first drives.
Prescod surging into the starting spot doesn’t seem surprising, considering he’d already surged into sharing the top spot on the depth chart. Head coach Marcus Freeman acknowledged that Prescod had shown some seriously impressive work on the same day he made the depth chart public.
“We feel confident at the right guard position, no matter if it’s Sully or Styles,” Freeman said. “We probably might see them both. But I think it’s a credit to the progression that Styles has made as a football player here in training camp.”
It won’t be long now before Notre Dame football fans find out once and for all who is the starting right guard against Wisconsin. After that, it’s all about seeing just how many snaps Styles Prescod gets over Absher.
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