Notre Dame Ascending Behind Consistent Offensive Line Play
Notre Dame's offense has had its ups and downs over the first four weeks of the season, but the Fighting Irish are on an upward trajectory coming out of the bye week.
Tommy Rees' offense racked up 576 total yards against North Carolina, including 287 yards on the ground, led by Audric Estime's 134 yards and two scores.
The three-headed monster of Estime, Chris Tyree and Logan Diggs might be the sexy topic, but Rees quickly pointed out the offensive line is starting to come together after a challenging start.
"If you look at the collective five that are playing right now, this will be their fourth week really playing together in preparation," explained Rees. "All spring ball, they didn't have all five of them. Majority of camp, week didn't have all five of them. The first prep and week, we didn't have all five of them. You're looking at a group that, although it has been anointed, they're relatively young playing together."
The chance for the offensive line to mesh has shown itself in the run game and pass pro over the last seven quarters, which has led to each individual player trusting themselves more.
"You're seeing the dividends pay off the more time they have together, the more the communication," Rees said. "You see a more confident, more communicative Zeke Correll. You're seeing tackles that are trusting what they're doing and playing to their abilities.
"You're seeing two veteran guys inside really own the group and demand the expectations of everybody. That position group especially takes time to jell. We're on week 4 of those guys really playing together. We're excited about the progress. If you guys know coach Hiestand, coach ain't going to stop."
All-American Jarrett Patterson couldn't go against Ohio State, but the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder has made his presence felt in several ways at right guard over the last three games.
For Rees, it's similar to how Michael Mayer makes the passing game better. Patterson improves everyone around him as he's one of the nation's best.
"You line up next to a great interior offensive lineman, communication is smoother with the center and the tackle," stated Rees. "The combinations, a lot of that is timing and time on task of working those together and having a feel for when to come off or not. The more you do those with the person you're playing with, the better you'll be.
"Great players elevate those around them. I would put Jarrett Patterson in that category. But it's not farfetched, especially in that position, to understand there's a lot of group effort there that goes into it. Jarrett helps. He can be like a calming presence for those guys."
On the outside, the lack of playing time for freshman receiver Tobias Merriweather has sparked endless discussion.
Rees knows he has to get the 6-foot-4 receiver on the field and had plans to do so against North Carolina.
"We've had plays the last two weeks that are specifically tagged for him," Rees said. "We didn't get to them in Cal because the game flow wasn't exactly dictating what his strengths were. We didn't get to them against Carolina again because the game flow. We were in a rhythm, we were rolling. It just didn't happen, right?"
Despite not getting to Merriweather's packages, Rees made it clear the freshman is showing growth to get on the field sooner than later.
"It's not anything specific to Tobias," stated Rees. "We're building in opportunities each week. He's practicing at a higher level, all those things he needs to do as a young player to earn that time is happening. I think he's going to continue to progress as the season goes on and have those opportunities to make some plays for us."
Sophomore receiver Lorenzo Styles has produced as he recorded five receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown against the Tar Heels.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder has also been Notre Dame's most consistent receiver on the year as Styles has recorded 16 receptions for 221 yards and a touchdown.
"I thought his touchdown early really kind of sparked us," recalled Rees. "We're very focused on individual improvement, and he did things nuanced in the game that highlighted that. The route he ran was something we covered from earlier in the year and we talked through and he went and executed it.
"There were a couple of physicality plays he went and executed. We challenged our guys to want more after the ball is in their hand. He did that. We wanted to highlight someone that is taking ownership of the things he's being challenged to do. He played pretty well. I don't think he had a drop. He blocked his tail off."
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