2026 In-State OL Benjamin Novak Recaps Notre Dame's Irish Invasion

Andrean High School (Ind.) has been a regular stop for Notre Dame throughout the years and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph was there a few weeks ago to check on 2026 offensive lineman Benjamin Novak‍. 

The 6-foot-6, 328-pounder returned the favor over the weekend by making the short drive over to Notre Dame for Sunday’s Irish Invasion camp. 

Novak wanted to showcase himself, but also get a feel for Rudolph’s coaching style and soak in the knowledge to make himself a better football player. 

“I think I did very well,” stated Novak. “I competed against some of the best defensive linemen in the nation. I loved one-on-ones and I thought I did very well. Coach Rudolph did an amazing job teaching me and going through drills. One thing I took away from it was hands up, powerful strikes and fast feet.”  

Accepting the invite was a no-brainer for Novak, who is looking to build his offer list and prove he’s one of the top offensive linemen in the country. 

“It’s another opportunity to prove myself and put myself out there as one of the best linemen out there,” explained Novak. “Competing against the best will help me be the best. I thought of it as an opportunity to showcase the abilities I’ve been working on so hard this offseason.” 

Irish Invasion also presented the opportunity for Novak to get some quality work against three Notre Dame defensive line commits in Chris Burgess‍, Dom Hulak‍ and Joseph Reiff‍. It was a learning experience for Novak from the standpoint of making real time adjustments to combat the increased speed from the three Irish commits. 

“They’re very fast off the edge,” Novak said. “I had to counteract that by getting out of my stance a little quicker myself. They were very impressive defensive linemen, so I had to up my game when going against them.” 

Regarding an offer, Novak should know a little bit more in the coming weeks after he caught up with Rudolph following the camp. 

“Coach Rudolph said he doesn’t like giving offers in front of everyone, which I agree,” stated Novak. “He’s going to reach out in two weeks to tell me where I stand.” 

That said, Notre Dame is the offer Novak would love to land.

“Getting a Notre Dame offer would mean so much,” said Novak, who will also camp at Iowa and Wisconsin this month. “It’s an hour away. Yeah, they’re definitely up there.” 

Until then, Novak will continue preparing for his junior season and training at OL Mafia in Chicago. The instruction he’s received from OL Mafia has taken his game to the next level over the last year and Novak couldn’t be more grateful. 

“I feel like OL Mafia has put me on that stage and reposting everything I have been posting and working with Nate (Oquendo),” Novak explained. “He’s helped me so much. He’s put me on another level. I feel that’s one of the reasons why I was invited out to Notre Dame based on that film I’ve been posting. He’s just done wonders for me.” 

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