Replace and Reload: Notre Dame Will Need To Find An Answer At Right Tackle

One of the most surprising departures for Notre Dame this offseason is right tackle Blake Fisher announcing he was heading to the NFL Draft. Fisher has shown some flashes at Notre Dame, but overall his game still needed a lot of work, but instead of continuing to develop in college, Fisher is hoping to get drafted and build his game in the National Football League.

With the expectation that left tackle Joe Alt will also leave for the NFL, Notre Dame will be in position to replace both offensive tackles for 2024. We'll discuss left tackle when/if Alt makes his decision, but right tackle leaves a big hole as well.

Let's take a look at where things stand as Notre Dame looks to reload at right tackle.

WHAT WAS LOST

Fisher started the last 26 games at right tackle for Notre Dame, with his first start coming against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, which concluded the 2021 season. Fisher started the first game of that season at left tackle, but he injured his knee in the first half of that game.

Fisher came to Notre Dame as a Top 100 recruit, with Rivals ranking him as a five-star recruit and the No. 25 overall player in the country. Fisher was quite impressive as a true freshman, and he actually earned the. starting left tackle job in fall camp.

After he went down, Alt eventually stepped into the left tackle role and thrived. When Fisher returned he was moved to the right side, and he and Alt started the next 26 games together as bookend tackles.

Fisher showed promise early in his career, and over the next two years he showed flashes of being a big time player, but he was far too inconsistent. While Alt allowed just 13 quarterback pressures in 2022-23 combined, Fisher allowed 17 pressures in 2022 and 16 pressures in 2023. He gave up eight sacks over the last two seasons (according to Pro Football Focus).

The Indiana native just couldn't build on the promise he showed as a rookie, and a lack of consistency plagued him the last two seasons. He was expected to make a jump in 2023, but it just didn't happen. Not only did he allow pressures at a higher rate in 2023, Fisher was also called for five penalties this season.

WAGNER WILL GET HIS CHANCE

With Fisher opting out for the bowl game, sophomore right tackle Aamil Wagner will likely be his replacement. This gives the talented young right tackle a chance to do at right tackle what classmates Billy Schrauth and Ashton Craig did at right guard and center when they stepped into the lineup in the final two games of the regular season.

Wagner is a talented young blocker in his own right, and we saw those flashes when he got in late in games this season. Wagner is long and athletic, and you can see that explosiveness the most in the run game. He shows good natural pop, but right now Wagner is still light.

At 288 pounds he's much closer to getting into an "ideal weight" range, but there were still too many times in pass pro where he got rocked back. Wagner comes off the line with explosiveness, but he still needs a bit more weight in the run game in order to get more movement.

Wagner has loads of potential, and the bowl game gives him a chance to show off his skill. If he can show that he has added the necessary girth to not only hold up at the point of attack, but to get movement, Wagner will have a chance to put his stamp on the right tackle position much like Craig and Schrauth did during their late season spot starts.

TALENTED YOUTH

There are big questions about the tackle position for next season, as Notre Dame is expected to lose both tackles. The good news, however, is that Notre Dame has a lot of talent coming back as well. The concern is it is mostly young, and the entire tackle depth chart is unproven, and will remain unproven even with a good bowl game performance.

Another question is who actually plays tackle. We saw talented true freshman Charles Jagusah playing left guard in late season games, but I expect him to get some work at tackle during bowl prep. Jagusah is one of those elite talents where you play where him wherever you need to in order to get him on the field as quickly as possible.

A strong offseason from Jagusah would not only give him a chance to win a starting tackle position - whether that be left or right - but it would easy a lot of the concerns about the tackle position overall. He is that kind of talent.

Another true freshman - Sullivan Absher - spent his freshman season getting work in practice at tackle. Absher was a right tackle in high school and he's a massive player (6-6 1/2, 326) that was a violent blocker in high school. If Absher can handle playing in space in pass protection he'll have a chance to make a push at right tackle this offseason.

Notre Dame landed a commitment from 2024 offensive tackle Guerby Lambert, who is one of the best high school blockers in the country. Lambert played right tackle in high school, but he has all the tools to play on the left side at a high level. Having said that, Lambert is like Jagusah in that early on you play at the position that allows him to compete for playing time as quickly as possible.

A future starting tackle tandem that consists of some combination of Jagusah, Lambert or Absher could be elite. If those young players get coached up and get a chance to compete for the starting role I'll feel much better about the tackles next season. Either one (or maybe two) of those talented young players on in the starting lineup, or Wagner improves to the point where he holds them off, which means he'll be poised to step into the lineup and play really good football.

There's talent here, no doubt, now it just needs to be developed.

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