Notre Dame Football
In the Film Room: Robert Hainsey SR Year
December 6, 2016
1,910
Before seeing Robert Hainsey compete at The Opening back in July, I have to say that I had a lot of questions about him as a prospect. I thought there was a chance he would get overwhelmed against some elite defensive linemen in attendance. I thought if he didn't improve his pad level, he would get put on skates quite a bit in one on ones.
By the end of that camp, I was pleasantly surprised with how Hainsey performed. He clearly was physically behind many of his peers, he was the second smallest offensive lineman at the camp, but he more than held his own by adjusting his pad level and scrapping out every rep. By the time he committed to Notre Dame at the conclusion of the event, I felt a lot better about his addition to their class than I would have a week earlier.
Hainsey played left tackle for IMG Academy and considering the talent they had on that team, that's a pretty big accomplishment. His future at Notre Dame will likely see him move to the interior and play guard or center. He has the athletic traits to develop into a high quality starter at either of those spots.
He played and practiced against some of the best competition in the country. From that standpoint, one would think he could have a shot at cracking the two deep as a freshman since he will enroll in January to get a head start this winter. I don' t see that happening because he has some catching up to do when it comes to being big enough to play offensive line at Notre Dame.
However, I do see a bright future for him if that development happens. He has the feet, competitiveness, and the nasty mentality to turn into a heck of a player down the line. He displayed plenty of the potential to do so during his senior season.
He plays with violence
I mentioned that Hainsey has to gain weight. I'm not sure what he is currently listed at, but he weighed in at 273 pounds in the summer. He has plenty of room to add it, especially in his lower half. He has to get a lot stronger too. Seeing him do a power ball toss in the SPARQ portion of The Opening next to Alabama commit Jedrick Wills was eye opening. One guy threw the ball what seemed like half of a football field. The other guy was Hainsey.
If things start getting corrected with Notre Dame's strength and conditioning program, then he is someone that I think will benefit greatly. When he gets strong enough, it's going to be frightening because he has a violent way of playing his position. This blitz pickup is exhibit A of that.
Sustaining his block
Far too many times this season I saw Notre Dame offensive linemen fit a block, but not sustain it. When that happened, the player who was supposed to be blocked ended up making the tackle most of the time. That's why I love seeing plays like this from Hainsey. He fires out and drives his man at the point of attack and when that player tries to disengage to make a play, Hainsey sticks with it and finishes the play.
The other reason I loved seeing this was because it featured Hainsey coming out of a three point stance. Most of his junior film saw him playing out of a two point and that technique screams pass first. That's what I would classify as a Big 12 technique. I don't know about you, but I never want to see Notre Dame play a Big 12 style of football.
Three point stance. Fire off the ball in the run game. Finish. That's what I like to see from offensive lineman.
He's an athlete
I have to think that the biggest reason he plays left tackle for IMG is that he is the best athlete they have on their line. One of the main reasons why I think he will be a great fit at guard for the Irish is his athleticism. He can move really well as you can see from him pulling on the play below.
A team's running game changes when they have athletic guards that can pull, lead, and block linebackers on the move. Hainsey can do those things.
Advanced in pass protection
Hainsey wouldn't be protecting the blind side of his quarterback if he wasn't a good pass blocker. He is definitely advanced compared with many others in pass protection. When he was facing the best pass rushers at The Opening, he needed to play with near perfect technique to deal with defensive tackles that were quicker and even bigger than he was.
When his footwork wasn't right or his pad level was too high, he got bullied back into the quarterback on some reps. He always adjusted and would come back with a better punch, better footwork, and a better base. It usually looked just like it did on this rep where he locked out the defensive lineman.
Out of the current three offensive line commits, all of them 4 stars, Hainsey is the best in pass protection.
Hainsey isn't going to be ready to play right away. Offensive lineman rarely are. Even Tommy Kraemer, who was a bigger and better prospect than Hainsey last year, wasn't ready to play as a true freshman. That's because of the mental side of things as well as the physical, but I think Hainsey should be able to pick up the mental part of it quicker than most.
Something needs to be fixed in the strength and conditioning department and if it gets fixed as expected, then that should mean very good things for Hainsey's future at Notre Dame. By the time he gets everything put together with his weight and strength, he should develop into a quality starter in the interior of the line.
By the end of that camp, I was pleasantly surprised with how Hainsey performed. He clearly was physically behind many of his peers, he was the second smallest offensive lineman at the camp, but he more than held his own by adjusting his pad level and scrapping out every rep. By the time he committed to Notre Dame at the conclusion of the event, I felt a lot better about his addition to their class than I would have a week earlier.
Hainsey played left tackle for IMG Academy and considering the talent they had on that team, that's a pretty big accomplishment. His future at Notre Dame will likely see him move to the interior and play guard or center. He has the athletic traits to develop into a high quality starter at either of those spots.
His future at Notre Dame will likely see him move to the interior and play guard or center. He has the athletic traits to develop into a high quality starter at either of those spots.
He played and practiced against some of the best competition in the country. From that standpoint, one would think he could have a shot at cracking the two deep as a freshman since he will enroll in January to get a head start this winter. I don' t see that happening because he has some catching up to do when it comes to being big enough to play offensive line at Notre Dame.
However, I do see a bright future for him if that development happens. He has the feet, competitiveness, and the nasty mentality to turn into a heck of a player down the line. He displayed plenty of the potential to do so during his senior season.
He plays with violence
I mentioned that Hainsey has to gain weight. I'm not sure what he is currently listed at, but he weighed in at 273 pounds in the summer. He has plenty of room to add it, especially in his lower half. He has to get a lot stronger too. Seeing him do a power ball toss in the SPARQ portion of The Opening next to Alabama commit Jedrick Wills was eye opening. One guy threw the ball what seemed like half of a football field. The other guy was Hainsey.
If things start getting corrected with Notre Dame's strength and conditioning program, then he is someone that I think will benefit greatly. When he gets strong enough, it's going to be frightening because he has a violent way of playing his position. This blitz pickup is exhibit A of that.
Sustaining his block
Far too many times this season I saw Notre Dame offensive linemen fit a block, but not sustain it. When that happened, the player who was supposed to be blocked ended up making the tackle most of the time. That's why I love seeing plays like this from Hainsey. He fires out and drives his man at the point of attack and when that player tries to disengage to make a play, Hainsey sticks with it and finishes the play.
The other reason I loved seeing this was because it featured Hainsey coming out of a three point stance. Most of his junior film saw him playing out of a two point and that technique screams pass first. That's what I would classify as a Big 12 technique. I don't know about you, but I never want to see Notre Dame play a Big 12 style of football.
Three point stance. Fire off the ball in the run game. Finish. That's what I like to see from offensive lineman.
He's an athlete
I have to think that the biggest reason he plays left tackle for IMG is that he is the best athlete they have on their line. One of the main reasons why I think he will be a great fit at guard for the Irish is his athleticism. He can move really well as you can see from him pulling on the play below.
A team's running game changes when they have athletic guards that can pull, lead, and block linebackers on the move. Hainsey can do those things.
Advanced in pass protection
Hainsey wouldn't be protecting the blind side of his quarterback if he wasn't a good pass blocker. He is definitely advanced compared with many others in pass protection. When he was facing the best pass rushers at The Opening, he needed to play with near perfect technique to deal with defensive tackles that were quicker and even bigger than he was.
When his footwork wasn't right or his pad level was too high, he got bullied back into the quarterback on some reps. He always adjusted and would come back with a better punch, better footwork, and a better base. It usually looked just like it did on this rep where he locked out the defensive lineman.
Out of the current three offensive line commits, all of them 4 stars, Hainsey is the best in pass protection.
Hainsey isn't going to be ready to play right away. Offensive lineman rarely are. Even Tommy Kraemer, who was a bigger and better prospect than Hainsey last year, wasn't ready to play as a true freshman. That's because of the mental side of things as well as the physical, but I think Hainsey should be able to pick up the mental part of it quicker than most.
Something needs to be fixed in the strength and conditioning department and if it gets fixed as expected, then that should mean very good things for Hainsey's future at Notre Dame. By the time he gets everything put together with his weight and strength, he should develop into a quality starter in the interior of the line.
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