Coach | Notre Dame OL Commit Joe Alt Has Tools To Make Transition

Joe Alt‍ has primarily been a tight end for Totino-Grace High School and some schools recruiting the 2021 Minnesota prospect to play that position at the next level.

It’s the position he’ll play again this fall, but Notre Dame recruited him strictly as an offensive tackle and after announcing his commitment to the Irish on Monday afternoon, that’s where his future will be.

“I think there will be a lot of crossover,” Totino-Grace head coach Jay Anderson says of the two positions. “Zone blocking is zone blocking. Pass protection, even in our system, Joe is asked to do that some.”

Anderson is confident the 6-foot-7, 260-pounder will put on an adequate amount of muscle and knows he possesses the work ethic and intellect to make the move.

“I think that transition will be pretty easy for him,” Anderson adds.

He’ll certainly have an extraordinary resource in the form of his offensive line coach at Totino-Grace, who is also his father. John Alt was an All-Pro offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Joe and John have a great, great relationship, a great father-son relationship,” Anderson says. “John just comes with a lot of knowledge, so that’s only going to help Joe, from all of his years of playing.

“We lean on John a lot for all of his knowledge and experience within our program. Joe has really picked up on that and has worked really hard it.”

Anderson believes Notre Dame is “a great fit” for Alt.

“Joe does come from a Catholic family and goes to a Catholic high school, so obviously, there’s that religious component, which I know is important to Joe,” the coach says. “Joe is really serious about his academics too. The prospect of going to a place like Notre Dame, which is a prestigious university with a great academic program was icing on the cake for Joe.”

“The family is excited, Joe’s excited. I’m happy for them.”

Off the field, Anderson calls Alt “one of the nicest kids you’ll ever meet.

“Very mature, very focused,” he continues. “Great with his classmates, with his teammates, with his teachers. He’s a bright young man. He works hard in the classroom, works hard in the weight room. He’s just an outstanding young man. I couldn’t say enough positives about Joe and I couldn’t be happier for a kid like that to get this opportunity.

“You couldn’t ask for a better kid to coach.”