Notre Dame Has The Nation's Best Offensive Line

The offseason accolades for the Notre Dame offensive line continue to roll in, and once again an analyst has ranked the Irish blockers as the nation's best unit heading into the 2020 season.

Rich Cirminiello, the Director of College Awards for the Maxwell Football Club, is the latest analyst to rank the Notre Dame offensive line as the nation's best group of blockers.

College Football's Top O-Lines for 2020:

8. Minnesota
7. Kentucky
6. Ohio State
5. Iowa
4. Boston College
3. Oklahoma
2. Alabama
1. Notre Dame

Group of Five:
1. Air Force
2. Appalachian State pic.twitter.com/3e965ZeaRY
— Rich Cirminiello (@RichCirminiello) June 22, 2020

I asked Cirminiello what made him so high on the Irish.

"With the healthy returns of Robert Hainsey and Tommy Kraemer to the right side, the Irish will have one of the nation’s most experienced, physical and productive O-lines in 2020. Jarrett Patterson is a rising star at center, and guard Aaron Banks has a high ceiling if he can shake nagging injuries. Notre Dame continues to excel at recruiting and developing next-level blockers, and this group should wind up ranking among the top units of Brian Kelly’s tenure."

When you read different takes on the Notre Dame offensive line it shows why so many analysts view it as such a talented group, and why expectations are so high.

You'll read or hear different names pointed to as reason's why Notre Dame's line is so highly thought of. Cirminiello's analysis mentions four different Irish players, and his views of each are spot on, but there's no mention of left tackle Liam Eichenberg.

Eichenberg is a preseason All-American and a potential first round pick, yet Cirminiello was able to give justification for Notre Dame having the nation's best line without even mentioning him.

Pro Football Focus ranked the Top 30 returning offensive linemen in the country, and Notre Dame was the only program to have four blockers ranked in that analysis. Notre Dame and Ohio State were the only two programs with three blockers ranked among the Top 10 at their positions by Lindy's Sports heading into the season.

Hainsey was Notre Dame's best lineman heading into the 2019 season, Kraemer was a mid-season All-American last fall, Patterson is considered by many as a rising star at center and Cirminiello is spot on with his analysis of Banks.

Lindy's also ranked Notre Dame's line as the best group of blockers heading into the season.

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