Joe Alt Named A PFF Freshman All-American

Notre Dame freshman Joe Alt was a tight end in high school, and he was maybe 240 pounds when he committed to the Fighting Irish. Despite his pedigree it was obvious Alt would need time to develop, right? ...... Wrong.

Alt is way ahead of where I thought he would be. He started the final seven games of his freshman season at left tackle and played outstanding football. His performance earned him first-team Freshman All-American honors from Pro Football Focus, and you can be certain it won't be the last time he earns such an honor this offseason.

"Alt was thrust into the starting left tackle spot in Week 6 and held his own right from the get-go. From Week 6 on, Alt finished as one of the 15 highest-graded tackles in the Power Five (plus Notre Dame, of course). The offensive adjustments made by offensive coordinator Tommy Rees following the Irish's Week 7 bye helped, as it tasked the line with fewer true pass sets. At the end of the day, though, the true freshman performed better than most seniors in that scenario." - PFF

Alt finished the regular season playing 511, including 255 pass snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, Alt allowed just five pressures and two sacks all season. The 6-7 1/2, 305-pound freshman didn't allow a single pressure in three of the final four games of the season.

Of course, Alt wasn't supposed to be this good this early. Not only because of his perceived need for time to grow his body, but classmate Blake Fisher was supposed to be the team's starting left tackle. Fisher went down with a season-ending injury in the season opener, and his talent plus Alt's emergence has the future at tackle for Notre Dame looking very, very bright.

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