Notre Dame's Ashton Craig Named to Rimington Award Watch List Despite Missing Most of 2024

Another day, another accolade for a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football squad.

Versatile interior offensive lineman Ashton Craig was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List. Craig, whose natural position is center, is being honored for being one of the most outstanding centers in college football.

In 2023, Craig was named to the Associated Press All-Bowl Team for the way he performed in the Sun Bowl at the center position. The entire Fighting Irish offensive line was named a finalist for the Joe Moore Award which reflects the nation's top offensive line in 2023 and 2024.

This is a rebound year for Craig as he is coming off of a season-ending knee injury after playing just three games in 2024. He tore his ACL which takes a solid 9-12 months to rehabilitate.

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Powerful up front 💪

Ashton Craig has been named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/Bir8JxcaTW
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 8, 2025

“You have to sit back and take a deep breath and be like, ‘Dang, that sucks,’ but the team still needs me,” Craig said. “I kind of stepped into a different role after I went down. I just wanted to help all my teammates, all the offensive linemen, just trying to go through cutups, trying to get that extra edge for them. I just tried to help them throughout the season.

Craig was a part of an offensive line that led Notre Dame to the fourth-ranked ground game in the Power 4 conferences with 5.66 yards per carry. The Irish also ranked No. 6 in total rushing offense with 210.8 yards per game.

Craig said the hardest part of the rehabilitation was not physical, but mental. He has had to fight and claw his way back to his pre-injury condition, which is taxing mentally.

“The beginning of summer, I was like, all right, I’m ready to go,” Craig said. “Coming back that first day of summer, I was like, I can do everything, I’m ready to go. Doing all the walk-throughs, doing everything in the lifts, keeping the foot on the gas, trying to get rehab every day. I feel good going into fall camp, having a good layer of summer, a good base of summer, getting my strength back in my legs.”

The Irish scored 45 rushing touchdowns last season which led all Power 4 teams and was third among all FBS programs.

Dave Rimington, the award’s namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at the University of Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy’s only two-time winner as the nation’s finest college interior lineman.

Since its inception, the award has raised over $5 million for the Boomer Esiason Foundation.