© Angela Driskell, Irish Breakdown
Notre Dame Lineman Joe Alt Went From Underrated Recruit To Elite Draft Prospect
Former Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt was once an underrated recruit, and now he's an elite tackle prospect
We are inching closer and closer to the 2024 NFL Draft officially kicking off. It is scheduled to begin on Thursday, April 25th at 8 PM eastern time. Among the extremely talented players in the class, former Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt is among the headliners.
Expected to go within the top ten selections in the class, Alt wasn’t always projected to be quite this caliber of football player. When you look back at his recruiting profile, he is a perfect example that stars do not always matter. Let’s take a look at Alt’s background, from projection-based recruit to blue chip NFL draft prospect.
AS A RECRUIT
It was a fascinating recruitment, who spent most of his high school career playing tight end. During his junior season in 2019, Alt hauled in 17 receptions for 143 yards. As you can imagine, his biggest asset as a player was with his impact as a blocker.
At the time, Alt stood right around 6-8 and 260 pounds. Obviously a projection to offensive tackle was a massive one at the time. There were easy building blocks to see, including size, length, athleticism and NFL bloodlines. Some major recruiting platforms valued that tremendously, including 247Sports who ranked him as the No. 180 overall player and No. 20 offensive tackle in the 2021 recruiting class.
Both ESPN and Rivals were not nearly as bullish on the Iowa native, ranking him as just a three-star recruit. Looking back on it, even 247Sports was not quite high enough on Alt. He’s a player who firmly outplayed his recruiting rankings, developing into one of the better offensive tackle prospects we have seen come out of college in several years.
AS A COLLEGE PLAYER
It wasn’t expected for Alt to play a lot in 2021, but necessity hit hard. Then starting left tackle Blake Fisher was viewed as the future at the position, but was lost during the first game until the ball game. Then Notre Dame trotted out Tosh Baker and Michael Carmody, both of which were very underwhelming. That led to Alt eventually getting the nod, now standing at around 300 pounds.
Alt never looked back.
It feels like the last two years have been a bit of a blur, mostly because Alt was a myriad of consistency at the offensive tackle position. After two All-American seasons, he had quietly solidified himself as one of the best offensive lineman to ever dawn the blue and gold. That’s quite the accomplishment when you consider how many great offensive lineman the school has developed.
Alt leaves the program with a bit of a question mark at left tackle moving forward. Not so much that there isn’t talent, but because he left the standard so high. Alt was an elite player at a very, very young age.
AS A DRAFT PROSPECT
After some early battles to be the first offensive tackle off the board, it feels like Alt has now cemented himself at the top of the 2024 NFL Draft class. There is a question on just where the landing spot is for Alt, who has seen his name next to the Tennessee Titans at No. 7 frequently throughout the process.
The Los Angeles Chargers (No. 5), New York Giants (No. 6) and Chicago Bears (No. 9) are a few other spots that would make some sense. Regardless, it is very unlikely that Alt falls out of the top nine selections, especially with so many teams needing major help on the offensive line from a team perspective.
Eventually evaluators just ran out of things to nitpick about Alt. He brings an outstanding physical profile, hitting every threshold. Alt is also young, but plays with technique unlike a player his age. Then you throw in the multi years of firm for the Irish, a program who is notorious for putting out high level talent.
Then, you also add in the fact that he worked under Harry Hiestand for a year. That extends the natural coaching he has been getting his entire life from his father John Alt, who was an outstanding offensive lineman in his own right for the Kansas City Chiefs. His production on the field allowed him to make two Pro Bowls and is currently in the Chiefs Ring of Honor.
What else is there to want? What doesn’t Alt have? At some point, the resume speaks for itself. He is about as clean of a prospect as you will find in this class.
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