Notre Dame State Of Recruiting: Offensive Line Success Should Continue

Notre Dame is poised to continue its strong offensive line recruiting with Joe Rudolph

One of the more consistent positions on the recruiting trail for Notre Dame over the last decade has been bringing in top offensive linemen. While the quality of coaching has varied, the recruiting has remained strong. 

Head coach Marcus Freeman has stated on multiple occasions he wants to be a line driven football team, and that requires great recruiting and development. Former line coach Harry Hiestand did both during his career at Notre Dame (2012-17, 2022), but Jeff Quinn really only did one, which was recruiting. Notre Dame returns a talented line this season, and both of those coaches played a key role.

The expectation for new line coach Joe Rudolph is to be more of what Hiestand was, someone who delivered strong recruiting results and strong development. We'll get a sense of Rudolph is up to the task over the next six months.

2022-24 RECRUITING SUCCESS

Notre Dame landed three-straight five-man recruiting classes, including the 2022 and 2023 hauls. Both were quality groups, although the 2022 class suffered some hardship. On top of struggles recruiting tackles, Notre Dame also lost standout Joey Tanona after he suffered career-ending injuries in a car accident.

Despite the issues, one of the 2022 signees - Billy Schrauth - is expected to earn a starting job, and two others - Aamil Wagner, Ashton Craig - have earned second team roles behind veterans. That's a quick rise up the depth chart for the class, which shows the groups talent.

Hiestand was on campus for just under a year, but he brought in another strong five-man class during that time. The crown jewel was five-star Charles Jagusah, but Sam Pendleton, Sullivan Absher, Joe Otting and Christopher Terek made up one of the best offensive line classes in the country.

As good as those two classes were, one issue was the lack of pure tackles. There are several players with the potential to be tackles, but Wagner and Jagusah are really the only two blockers that project as more pure tackles, but even Jagusah could find himself fighting for a guard spot at some point. The need to land tackles was an absolutely must in the 2024 class, and the staff is close to hitting it out of the park in this quest.

Notre Dame kicked off the 2024 class with Peter Jones, and Rudolph's first commitment came from Anthonie Knapp. While both could play tackle, but both ideally project as inside players. Notre Dame finally landed a more true tackle when Styles Prescod committed in June. That was a big pickup, but Notre Dame needs one more tackle in the class. Rudolph is trying to land Massachusetts standout Guerby Lambert, who holds the key to the 2024 class. If Notre Dame can land Lambert it would give them a fourth straight outstanding recruiting class, and Lambert's upside is as good as almost anyone the Irish have signed in recent seasons.

Lambert helps balance out the future depth charts by combining with Prescod to give Irish the tackle depth it needed to restock the tackle roster.

2025 BOARD

If Notre Dame lands Lambert in the 2024 class it puts the staff in position to focus on getting back to being on a track to sign four players a year, and only getting to five if it means they are landing an elite player they can't say no to.

The 2024 class was thin from an impact line standpoint, so Lambert would give the Irish an outstanding class in any year, but even more impressive considering the context of the class. The 2025 class appears to be much deeper, especially when it comes to more tackle bodies. Even some of the interior types have tackle bodies, which is what Hiestand looked for in recruits for so many years.

It's clear that Notre Dame's top offensive line target is Wisconsin big man Owen Strebig, a 6-8 monster that reminds me a lot of the kind of players that Rudolph thrived with at Wisconsin. Notre Dame is trending in a great direction with Strebig, but they have to close.

Michigan big man Avery Gach is another very talented and massive young blocker that is high on Notre Dame's board, and the same is true for New York blocker Rowan Byrne. Both are already 6-5+ and 285+ pounds as a sophomores, and they both move well. Gach has more tackle to his game, but he could also be a dominant interior player, while Byrne projects best inside.

Notre Dame is also making a run at Connecticut athlete Matty Augustine, a 6-7 former basketball player that earned an offer while shining at a Notre Dame camp this summer. The best player on the board is five-star David Sanders Jr., but so far the Irish haven't been able to get him on campus. Some other early names to know early are Josh Petty, Michael Roeske and Will Black.

TRENDING

Notre Dame is trending in a good direction, but landing Lambert is an absolute must. If Rudolph is able to win that battle then the trend line shoots way up. If he can follow that up by kicking off the 2025 class with a player like Strebig he'll answer any questions about whether or not he can keep Notre Dame's elite line recruiting rolling.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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