‘Next man up.’
It’s a saying heard every day in college football and used by coaches as motivation and repeated at every press conference after an injury.
Too often, it’s just lip service. Great teams are the ones that truly believe it and live it.
At Notre Dame, that motto has been more than a cliché over the past two seasons.
In 2024, Notre Dame had several key injuries and the Irish didn’t miss a beat.
Starting center Ashton Craig has gone down with season-ending injuries in back-to-back years, and a year ago, it was Pat Coogan who stepped up. This year, it’s Joe Otting.
Otting made his first start against USC and it couldn’t have gone better. Notre Dame ran for 306 yards and earned an impressive 34-24 victory.
The redshirt sophomore admitted he didn’t get much sleep ahead of his first career start.
“I'm a big nap person, so I couldn't take any naps,” Otting explained. “My heart was pounding. It was a good week, but I was mostly just excited. Excited to get out there, excited to attack with my fellas. I'm very blessed and grateful to do all that, and now I've got to keep stacking.”
It was a moment Otting had to wait for, but he knew it would come.
“It is tough, but that's what we're born to do,” Otting said of being patient. “That’s how we get after it around here. Really, it was really fun. Really loved it.”
Otting and Notre Dame got off to a hot start. Jeremiyah Love ripped off a 63-yard run, and it was an omen for the rest of the night.
The drive gave Otting confidence, but also a moment he won’t soon forget as he watched Love hit open space.
“It was pretty damn awesome,” stated Otting. “I was pumped, I was going down the field, and I just see J-Love sprint right past me. It's an awesome thing, but it's a team deal. O-line, we're all working together, we're all dialed in. I can’t do what I do without all those guys right next to me. Props to our whole room.”
Otting’s teammates played a big role in helping him find comfort leading into his first start, but so did his father, Eric, a former Washburn football player who’s been his role model from the start.
“He's had a huge influence,” said Otting. “He’s my biggest role model. He’s who I look up to. I love him to death. He has me ready. He always loves giving me his little pep talks for the game on Fridays.
“He instills all his values onto me, and I’m grateful for that. Just how he carries himself and the humbleness and the gratitude he walks with, and how he works, is really what I look up to.”
Otting admits the pep talk his father gave him on Friday was a little different before his first start.
“He's trying to keep it cool,” laughed Otting. “I know my parents, and I know they were probably nervous as heck. I was calm and cool, trying not to worry about what they were thinking.”
Now, Notre Dame will count on Otting to build on his starting debut and help break in another first-time starter, Sullivan Absher, at left guard.
Defensive tackle Jason Onye believes the duo will be just fine. He’s seen their growth every day in practice for the past three years.
“Those two are guys,” Onye said. “There is basically no drop off from Billy and Ashton. I told JO the first time he was getting a start, go be the dawg I know you can be. I know what’s expected of him and how he strains in practice each day, so there was no surprise. They are going to play and dominate the rest of the season.”
For Otting to dominate, the Kansas native will continue to do what he’s done since he arrived at Notre Dame as an athletic offensive lineman who basically started from ground zero in pass protection.
“Obviously, they see me as an athletic guy,” said Otting. “I was a big hooper back in the day. I've evolved in my strength, just getting off the ball, tearing off the ball, but also with communication with my guys, and just playing for the brother next to me is a big thing.
“And lastly, I'll say like my pass pro is so much better coming from a wing T offense. It’s really weird, but definitely big time in that.”
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