Listed measurements: 6-foot-3, 310 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A fifth-year veteran, Correll still has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: Correll will start at center, the second straight year in that role and his third beginning a season as a starting offensive lineman.
Recruiting: A consensus four-star prospect and the No. 6 guard in the country, per rivals.com, Correll chose Notre Dame over other finalists Clemson, Ohio State and Stanford.
CAREER TO DATE
One of the luxuries of this summertime series is how some parts of each article can be quickly researched by checking the previous year’s entry. This section of last year’s began with, “Correll spent his freshman season trying to add weight, a consistent need of his last three years …”
That prompted a thought beyond how many games (29) and starts (21) Correll can claim.
Correll was listed at 275 pounds as an early-enrolled freshman, far from small but underweight for someone standing 6-foot-3 on the interior of the offensive line. When he was poised for his first significant playing time, Correll weighed 295 pounds the spring before his junior year. Getting there, but still not in line with the rest of the Irish front. His weight had not changed a year later.
Obviously, somewhere in the last 18 months, Correll found a bit of an edge in this regard, now at a more durable weight.
As for his actual career, Correll dabbled in four games as a freshman before working as Jarrett Patterson’s backup at center in 2020. When Patterson suffered a foot injury that November, Correll started in his place. Notre Dame’s coaching staff thought, perhaps hoped, Josh Lugg would fare better than Correll did in his debut with a frustrated ankle, so Lugg got two weeks of work. At nearly 6-foot-7 and with frequent back trouble, Lugg did not excel. Correll stepped back into the fulcrum against Alabama in the College Football Playoff.
He played well enough to be seen as one of the five best Irish offensive linemen entering 2021, staring at left guard while Patterson returned to center. Correll simply was not big enough, replaced by Andrew Kristofic after six games.
Last year, Correll found his home again at center, starting all 13 games, one of three returning starters with that claim (joining junior tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher). In total, Notre Dame returns 40 starts from last season and its expected starting offensive line will boast 65 career starts, though some preseason hype might claim the Irish have 69 returning starts (two each from Tosh Baker and Michael Carmody).
2019: 4 games.
2020: 3 games, 2 starts.
2021: 9 games, 6 starts.
2022: 13 games, 13 starts.
NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS
Tonight I teamed up with @RMHCMichiana to provide food and a little bit of hope to families who truly need it by cooking them tacos! Some subpar chefs made magic in the kitchen tonight! It’s an honor to help. If you want to get involved, you can visit: https://t.co/4cDxKrDIrr pic.twitter.com/ECMDcCCi4Z
— Zeke Correll (@zekecorrell) January 24, 2023
QUOTES
At the NFL combine in the spring, Patterson was asked who would impress more than expected at Notre Dame next season.
“Zeke Correll, he’s going to have a huge year this year,” Patterson said. “... He has a whole year of center under his belt. I expect him to pretty much lead those guys as a fifth-year senior. I know he’s going to take it super serious, knowing that it’s his fifth year at Notre Dame. I expect him to be locked in, I can just sense it.”
WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
After a spring of Correll working at center, summer buzz suggested he might move to left guard or the second unit to accommodate keeping Patterson at center. In the end, Correll remained the starting center, but that buzz was familiar and undoubtedly something not missed this year.
“Another piece of Correll’s ‘99-to-0’ entry from a year ago warrants mention now. To describe his depth-chart standing, ‘Irish head coach Brian Kelly spent all of one weekend casting doubt on Correll’s starting status this spring. Exactly one week later, Kelly acknowledged Correll would once again be Notre Dame’s starting center.’
“The more things change, perhaps the more they stay the same.
“Spring and summer rumors of Correll’s need at center are nothing new at Notre Dame. A year ago, the transfer of right guard Cain Madden from Marshall changed the equation, allowing Patterson to return to his best position. This season, something less tangible could again alter the decision-making process.
“Perhaps Kristofic returns in August closer to his November form than his supposed lackluster spring look. Perhaps Patterson quietly expresses a desire to remain at center, where he is widely projected as the No. 1 draft-eligible player and possible All-American. Perhaps all of this is merely fodder to fill idle time.
“That said, moving Correll back to the second-string would hardly mean a lost 2022 for him. An injury to Kristofic or Patterson would move Correll into the starting lineup, and from a pure likelihood standpoint, that is probably nearly as likely as not.
“Correll’s greatest struggle in his early years at Notre Dame was adding and keeping on weight. He appears to have pulled that off, now consistently at 295 pounds. He is a viable starting center, and he may be a very good one. …”
2023 OUTLOOK
Start, help the Irish challenge for the Joe Moore Award and lead an offensive line that should be Notre Dame’s best since 2020, if not 2017.
Oh, and Correll could conceivably be an Irish captain this year. Offensively, clear nominees are few, but Marcus Freeman will almost assuredly want at least two per side of the ball. Alt and Correll would make the most sense, unless deferring to Wake Forest transfer quarterback Sam Hartman.
DOWN THE ROAD
Correll enjoys eligibility through the 2024 season thanks to the universal pandemic eligibility waiver. That would be his sixth year in South Bend, so it should not be assumed he will use that added season, but Notre Dame would undoubtedly welcome back a four-year starting offensive lineman.
It can be difficult to gauge the NFL futures of centers. Much like in recruiting, NFL front offices tend not to chase centers in the draft, so Correll may have less reason to make that leap than junior teammates Alt and Fisher.
NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U’
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth
