Report | Notre Dame Expected to Name Joe Rudolph Next Offensive Line Coach
Notre Dame seems to have its next offensive line coach as Joe Rudolph is expected to take fill the vacancy left by Harry Hiestand per a report from Tom Loy of 247 Sports and multiple sources have confirmed to ISD.
Rudolph, who is entering his 20th season coaching college, will come to South Bend via Virginia Tech where he spent the 2022 season after coaching seven seasons at Wisconsin from 2015-2021.
At Wisconsin, Rudolph was not only the offensive line coach, but he held the title of associate head coach and was the offensive coordinator from 2015-2020. The Badgers averaged 212.3 rushing yards during Rudolph’s tenure in Madison, which ranks No. 5 among Power Five programs in the same time period. Only Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Oregon and Oklahoma averaged more rushing yards per game during that stretch.
The Badgers also produced five first-team All America selections on the offensive line under Rudolph, including tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who was a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. In 2019, center Tyler Biadasz won the Rimington Trophy and was named a consensus All-American. Guard Beau Benzschawel was named first-team All-America twice under Rudolph.
In his final year at Wisconsin, the Badgers averaged 215.4 rushing yards per game with its lead back being a freshman (Braelon Allen) who arrived on campus as a linebacker.
As a recruiter, Rudolph landed two composite five-star offensive linemen in Nolan Rucci and Logan Brown as well as five-star running back Rushel Shell during his time at Pitt. Rudolph is also credited for landing Dorian Johnson (OL/Pitt), Trey Wedig (OL/Wisconsin), Joe Brunner (OL/Wisconsin), Chris Clark (TE/Pitt) and 11 other four-star prospects, including seven offensive linemen.
Rudolph played at Wisconsin and then went on to play in the NFL from 1995-97 with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. He later earned a master’s degree from Carnegie-Mellon in 2004.
The Rudolph File
2004-06: Ohio State - Graduate Assistant
2007: Nebraska - Tight Ends
2008-11: Wisconsin - Tight Ends
2012-14: Pittsburgh - Associate head coach/Offensive Coordinator
2014: Pittsburgh - Interim head coach
2015-20: Wisconsin - Associate head coach/Offensive Line/Offensive Coordinator
2021: Wisconsin - Associate head coach/Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator
2022: Virginia Tech - Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator
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