Official | Notre Dame Hires OL Coach Harry Hiestand
Notre Dame has brought back a familiar face to coach the offensive line as Harry Hiestand will return to the Fighting Irish program.
“Harry built the standard of excellence for the Notre Dame offensive line and we are excited to have him back in our program,” stated head coach Marcus Freeman. ”Our focus is on player development and pushing our players to reach their full potential and that is where Harry excels.”
The Irish became known as OL U during Hiestand’s first stop at Notre Dame from 2012-17 and that included a National Title appearance in 2012.
Hiestand arrived at Notre Dame in 2012 following a two-year stint at Tennessee. The Irish averaged 5.83 yards per rush under Hiestand, including 6.25 yards in 2017, a program record.
Notre Dame's rich offensive line tradition would only skyrocket under Hiestand’s leadership as he developed Zack and Nick Martin, Chris Watt, Ronnie Stanley, Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey. The Irish offensive line was at its peak in Hiestand’s final year as the 2017 unit won the coveted Joe Moore Award.
Hiestand’s recruiting efforts were also solid as he landed top prospects Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg from Ohio, while also pulling Robert Hainsey out of IMG Academy.
The Chicago Bears pulled Hiestand away from South Bend in 2018 where he spent two seasons before being let go by struggling head coach Matt Nagy in December of 2019.
Harry Hiestand Highlights
- 2017 Joe Moore Award
- 1st Round Draft Picks (Recent): Ronnie Stanley, Zack Martin, Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey
- Notre Dame averaged 207.6 rushing yards per game in 2015.
- Notre Dame’s offensive line allowed just eight sacks in 2013.
The Harry Hiestand File
1982 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Student Assistant
1983 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Assistant Offensive Line
1984-85 East Stroudsburg (Pa.) Offensive Line
1986 Pennsylvania Tight Ends
1987 USC Graduate Assistant
1988 Toledo Tight Ends
1989-93 Cincinnati Offensive Line
1994-96 Missouri Offensive Line
1997-04 Illinois Offensive Line
2005-09 Chicago Bears Offensive Line
2010-11 Tennessee Offensive Line
2012-17 Notre Dame Offensive Line
2018-2019 Chicago Bears Offensive Line