Notre Dame vs. USC pregame injury report: Howard Cross III available for Saturday’s game

The Notre Dame football communications team has released its pregame injury report for Saturday’s game against Southern Cal. Fighting Irish graduate student defensive lineman Howard Cross III is in full uniform and available to play.

Cross injured his left ankle in Notre Dame’s 52-3 win against Florida State on Nov. 9. He played a season-low 22 snaps in that game and had 2 solo tackles. On the season, Cross, a preseason All-America, has 23 tackles, 5.5 stops for loss and 4 sacks. Pro Football Focus also credits him with 12 quarterback hits and 1 hurry.

The 6-foot-1, 288-pound Cross did not suit up against Virginia or Army.

On Monday, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman ruled out freshmen linebackers Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (right knee) and Bodie Kahoun (lower leg) for Week 14. Viliamu-Asa, a Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco product, only played six snaps in his first career start against Army last Saturday. Blue & Gold has a wrap on his right knee in the second half. Kahoun played 16 snaps, 8 on kick coverage and 3 punt return, against the Black Knights.

Also on Monday, Freeman said sophomore wide receiver KK Smith will be out for 4-6 weeks due to a clavicle injury. He did not play last Saturday’s 49-14 win over Army. The Notre Dame football communications team ruled Smith out pregame.

While an official update was not provided, Fighting Irish senior Jason Onye remains out with a personal matter. He has not been listed on the team’s depth chart over the last several weeks.

“He’s just taking some personal time right now to get some things that he needs,” Freeman said Nov. 4. “So, if there’s a chance for him to return, we would love to have him back. But right now, we just got to support Jason getting the help he needs for Jason.”

Onye did not play against Stanford, Georgia Tech, Navy, Florida State, Virginia or Army. Before stepping away from the team, he had 7 tackles (4 solo), 1.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks and 1 pass breakup in five games.

Saturday’s game against Southern Cal kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET, with CBS providing broadcast coverage. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Irish are 6.5-point favorite.

By beating Army on Saturday, Notre Dame covered the spread for the ninth time this season and seventh straight game. The only two times the Irish didn’t cover it was when they lost outright to Northern Illinois in Week 2 and only beat Miami (Ohio) 28-3 in Week 4.

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