Notre Dame DL Alexander Ehrensberger Trending Up

The grind of college football is a wake up call for most players when they arrive from high school. It's a new game and the added academic challenges can make life tough. 

Notre Dame defensive end Alexander Ehrensberger had an even bigger adjustment than most as he arrived in South Bend from Germany. 

The 6-foot-6, 267-pounder enters his junior year with 11 games under his belt and looking to build on a solid sophomore campaign. 

"I would say it's been good," Ehrensberger said of his preseason camp. "There have been good days. I've been having a good time working on my own craft every day. We have a strong unit. We're focusing on ourselves day by day and we hope for good things this year." 

Violence has been a focus of defensive line coach Al Washington and Ehrensberger has taken it to heart as he's dialed in on enhancing his game. 

"I really wanted to focus on run destruction this camp and being more dominant in my pass rush," explained Ehrensberger. "I think both of these aspects of my game have been improving lately." 

In fact, Washington feels Ehrensberger and Jacob Lacey are two players who have started to really come on over the last week. 

"Alex is another one who is an 'up and comer,'" said Washington. "He's trending the right way. Those two guys are great examples of our depth. They're relatively mature and that helps. 

"We just have to continue to get better at the fundamentals and details. We have to control what we can control. If we do that, we have an opportunity to get the results you want." 

Washington hasn't been shy to get in the drills and work. He conditioned with his guys during the summer as he wanted to build trust and it paid off. 

"He's a great guy," stated Ehrensberger. "It's fun to play with him and be his player. I think he's a good mentor and he gets you motivated. I respect him. He has a lot of knowledge and he's a master of his craft.

"It's been good. We have a good coaching staff. We just work it every day. It's football - one against one, so it stays the same." 

Ehrensberger is also quick to point out he's leaned on the veterans on the team to help him grow and adjust over the last 2.5 years. 

"Definitely the older guys, the twins have been good mentors for me," Ehrensberger said. "Also, my roommate, (Isaiah) Foskey, besides him, JD (Bertrand) and Jack Kiser. They're great guys and pushing me to my limits and getting me used to college life.

"Ade, back in the day when he was here, he was a big mentor for me being a taller guy and helping me with my pad level." 

Foskey has developed into one of the nation's premier edge players and Ehrensberger has had a front row seat, which is also motivating. 

"His dominance in both aspects of the game is something I look up to," said Ehrensberger. "I think it's just experience from having that many snaps under his belt." 

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