Notre Dame OL Youth Growing Daily
2022 has brought a lot of change to the Notre Dame program and that includes the Irish offensive line room.
Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand returning to the program is the most significant difference from a year ago as Notre Dame returns plenty of experience. 2021 captain Jarrett Patterson has moved over to right guard and Josh Lugg is now inside to right guard. Zeke Correll will be the center after playing a little guard last fall.
Hiestand will never say he’s satisfied with his offensive line, but there is no denying the Irish have made progress since the spring, including playing with more physicality.
"The thing I think they demonstrate at times is the ability to do that,” Hiestand said when asked about the physical play of the line. “What we have to improve is our consistency. We're not playing with good enough consistency either fundamentally with our techniques or our execution. There are plays you kind of like and there are still too many plays you don't like."
Notre Dame’s tackles will be young, yet Joe Alt and Blake Fisher did gain valuable experience a year ago.
Patterson feels Alt could be in a big season as the athleticism and length are there and now it will comes down to cleaning up some of the small details during camp.
"He's always been great at communicating and always understood,” stated Pattereson. “For him, it's the same thing as me having good footwork consistently every single play. He'll get it down."
Lugg has noticed a significant change in both sophomore tackles when it comes to communication. Alt and Fisher have started to become louder and authoritative in their calls, which needed to happen in year two.
"They've really stepped up vocally,” explained Lugg. “They started to progress through the spring and I can really count on Blake to make calls. I can really count on Joe to get the call all the way across the offensive line in critical situations, so I know the nose is spiking across my face and Blake and I can make the right play."
Sophomore guard Rocco Spindler is always a hot name on the message boards and Hiestand has been pleased with what he’s seen from the Michigan native through the first week of camp. Spindler has more work to do, but the growth is starting to come.
“Rocco's a perfect example of what we were just talking about,” Hiestand said. “You see some tremendous things from him and then some inconsistencies. Working on building a consistency play after play is what his challenge is, but a lot of good there from him."
Early enrollee Billy Schrauth missed the spring with an injury and is just now getting his first practice reps.
"A work in progress,” stated Hiestand. “Learning how to play and learning how to play college football for Billy.”
Schrauth and Spindler have caught the eye of Patterson during the summer and fall camp, which is a positive as both continue to grow.
"They’re bigger, beefier guys,” Patterson stated. “They fire off the ball and they play really hard. They aren't afraid to ask questions to help improve their game. The biggest thing is they are team guys and they want to help the team win. Whatever they have to do they'll do it."
When it comes to the other freshmen offensive linemen, Lugg likes what he’s seen in camp, but the biggest impression may have come off the field.
"They want to play hard,” said Lugg. “They want to compete and do things the right way, whether that's taking notes the right way or being early. This class is together.
"One of the best parts that we see is if we're all hanging out as an offensive line, we'd have all five of them show up at the same time. We didn't even have to say anything about that. They just knew we were all going to be together because this is what the rest of the unit is doing. To have that from the bottom up is incredible for our culture and what we're trying to create here."
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