At this time one year ago, Aamil Wagner hadn’t even started his first game of his college career yet. He was thrown into the deep end immediately playing on the road at Texas A&M against a defensive line that featured multiple top NFL Draft selections.
"Heart was racing, there was a lot going on,” Wagner recalled about that first start. “It felt like bullets were flying everywhere, but at the end of the day, I trained behind two of the best tackles in the country in Joe Alt and Blake Fisher for the last couple of years.
“I have the opportunity to learn under one of the best offensive line coaches. I have all the tools in my tool set to be able to execute. It's really about being able to take that deep breath, calm down and execute."
Wagner is a much different player today than he was then. He was a much different player later in the season and had come a long way before Notre Dame reached the College Football Playoff. There was so much invaluable experience gained that came from 16 starts while being challenged by so many elite pass rushers. Penn State’s Abdul Carter was at the top of the list.
There was no one better in college football at the position. Going against him and so many other great players is something that Wagner relished. While it was extremely challenging, Wagner knows that’s part of the reason why someone chooses to play for a program as prestigious as Notre Dame.
"It was a cool experience,” Wagner stated. “I remember texting back and forth with (Anthonie) Knapp. It's really cool to see. It really speaks to the brand of Notre Dame that we can play anyone anywhere in the country.
“Having the opportunity to go against some of those elite pass rushers like Abdul Carter and those guys and being able to say that I played 90% of the defensive ends that went in the first round was a really cool experience. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to go against that caliber of talent."
There was so much discussion about Wagner’s weight before and during last season. No one would deny that there is a benefit for him to be bigger. However, his weight didn’t hinder him when it came to doing things like this.
Wagner is now over 300 pounds and considering that he was moving people like that in the run game when he was below it, it should be exciting to see him go to work bigger and better this season.
"I think it's night and day,” Wagner said when asked how different he feels compared to last year. “Physically, I'm a lot bigger and a lot stronger. I'm finally over the 300 mark consistently. Not a day goes by where I'm coming into the weight room at 299 or 298 whatever it is. I'm consistently in that 300 to 305 range.
“Power wise, I feel a lot better. I feel like when I get into double teams, I have some amazing guards that help me out, but I'm getting into double teams and moving guys a lot better. Also, the mental side of the game, a lot of things have slowed down. I can recognize looks and be able to predict some things that might have. I'm glad to have that experience and move forward."
The mental and technical side doesn’t get talked about enough with offensive line play, but it’s a huge piece of what can make an individual successful. Wagner got better as the season progressed at adjusting his weight distribution in pass protection to anchor against the bull rush.
He’s focused a lot during the offseason on not just relying on being an athlete as well and becoming a better technician. Offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has seen how all of that work has come to fruition and he gave a lot of credit to Director of Football Performance Loren Landow and Director of Sports Nutrition Alexa Appelman for creating plans for Wagner and every other player to follow and reach their offseason goals.
The next step that Rudolph wants to see from Wagner on the field has more to do with his mindset. Rudolph has already seen how much that changed over the course of last season.
“I just want to see him play with total confidence, like tear it loose and just play,” Rudolph declared. “And we all have moments where we're more confident, and moments when we, like…you saw it in [the] Penn State [game] early. ‘Let me feel this out. Oh, 11 [Abdul Carter] is on my side. He's always on the left side. Now he's on the right side for that game for the first time.’
“And you're kind of like, ‘Let me get a feel for this,’ and then he started just playing, and he did great. So. I want to just see him just start playing and not think about any of it. And that was a pretty damn good player out there.”
Notre Dame’s process of choosing captains involves players stepping forward and speaking in front of the team to explain why they should be elected. Nothing says more about the confidence Wagner has gained than the fact that he wants to be one of the players to state his case for being a captain.
"I'll for sure stand up,” Wagner announced. “I think it's one of the biggest honors, not just at Notre Dame but in sports in general. Having the opportunity to lead your guys and have the opportunity to take care of business and be there whenever somebody needs you.
“Regardless, Coach Freeman wants us to lead whether you're a captain, a freshman or a walk-on. We're going to be leaders on this team. I don't think the 'C' on my chest will make a difference; I'll be leading regardless."
He’s an improved version of the player he was and the offensive line should be an improved unit based on all of the experience those players gained last fall. They came into last season with the starting five having only six career starts combined. Wagner is excited to see how the more experienced pieces all fit together in 2025.
"We have the opportunity to play together,” Wagner said about the strength of the offensive line as a unit. “Ashton for the first three games, Knapp and Billy for the majority of the season and then myself and Charles when he comes back, even Sully at practice we have the opportunity to see how we fit.
“We get to see what works well, what we need to work on and how we gel together. Having those live game reps to see how we fit and how we work together really helps and adds a lot of confidence. We're just ready to get out there and play."
Men's Under Armour Navy Notre Dame Fighting Irish All Fight Raglan Pullover Hoodie
