Lugg's Willingness To Work Is Unquestioned

We’ve never heard of a prospect putting together the kind of tape that Josh Lugg assembled following his junior season at North Allegheny High School and we probably won’t see it.

But it’s the fact that the 2017 Notre Dame offensive line signee made it at all that is the real story.

“Everybody puts together highlight films, after his junior year, he put together clips of his worst plays,” North Allegheny head coach Art Walker told Irish Sports Daily.

“He sat down with his o-line coach and me to find out what he had to do to get better and make sure he didn’t make those mistakes again. That’s just the kind of kid he is.”

Nobody instructed the 6-foot-7, 295-pounder to make a "lowlight tape."

“That was all him,” his coach said. “That was all him. Obviously, he didn’t send it out. It was just for him to see the things he needed to work on.

“He’s such a student of the game that he will identify through his coaches what he needs to work on and he’ll address it.”

Lugg doesn’t require outside motivation.

“Twice a week, he would go on his own and lift before school at 5:30 to make sure he maintained strength,” Walker said. “When you have that kind of drive and that kind of focus, it makes my job as a head coach very easy.”

That’s just one of the reasons Walker is confident about Lugg’s future with the Irish.

“He’s a great kid in the classroom, over a 4.0,” Walker said. “He’s a hard worker. He has the respect of his teachers and classmates and everybody in that regard because of how hard he works in the classroom.

“It’s the same thing on the field. He was a great leader for us in the weight room in the winter and the spring and all of the conditioning stuff we did all summer. He never missed, he was always there, always leading, always leading by example and being vocal.”

As a senior, Lugg made the most out of the gifts with which he was blessed.

“He was extremely physical, extremely reliable,” said Walker. “He didn’t miss a game. He was just a dominant player for us and the offensive – and this year, defensive – line.

“From an offensive standpoint, he’s a very physical run blocker and he’s a very good pass blocker. He probably doesn’t get enough credit for that, but he’s remarkable. I think that was a good thing that he played in the Army All-American Game in San Antonio because of the amount of passing. He did an exceptional job against some great, great players. They’re getting the total package. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s strong, he’s smart and he’s still young. He was my youngest senior. He’s only 17 years old and isn’t turning 18 until June.”

Walker believes Lugg will only continue to improve.

“I think he’s going to get bigger,” he said. “He’s 6-7 and already like 295. He’s still young. With his love for the game and his physicality, he’s going to be fine. He’s a competitor, he’s going to learn from the guys who are older, he’s going to respect them, but he’s also going to compete against those guys.

“He has a chip on his shoulder because he feels he has something to prove. He’s very, very good in everything that he does. He has very good feet for his size and I just think he’s going to continue to improve on every aspect because of where he’s going, the competition and the level of play that Notre Dame has on its schedule. I have all of the faith in the world that he’s going to be a contributor for a lot of years there.”

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