Notre Dame starting WR tears ACL, will miss 2022 season

Notre Dame receiver Avery Davis tore his right ACL on Friday and will miss the 2022 season, the program announced Saturday morning.

Davis previously tore his left ACL towards the end of the 2021 season, but had worked his way back into Notre Dame’s starting lineup for the upcoming campaign.

Here’s the announcement:

Despite the injury limiting Davis to only 8 games, he still caught 27 passes for 386 yards and 3 touchdowns. With Kevin Austin moving on to the NFL, Davis was the top returning wide receiver on Notre Dame’s roster.

He was expected to start in the slot for the Fighting Irish. This injury will seriously test Notre Dame’s depth at receiver. The offense is now down to 5 healthy scholarship receivers and 2 of them (Jayden Thomas and Tobias Merriweather) have yet to catch a pass at the collegiate level.

Merriweather is a true freshman who has been impressive so far in fall camp

. It’s possible this injury will open the door for him to have a bigger impact this season.

Notre Dame’s top returning wide receiver is now Braden Lenzy, who caught 32 passes for 350 yards and 3 touchdows last season. Lorenzo Styles (344 yards) and Deion Colzie (67 yards) also return.

Of course, Notre Dame also has tight end Michael Mayer as a weapon in the passing game. Mayer went for 840 yards last season and is considered to be one of the top tight ends in the country.

Notre Dame opens the season with Ohio State on Sept. 3.