Notre Dame Offensive Line Recruiting Strategy Could Shift Moving Forward

Notre Dame fans and supporters were taken off guard a little over a week ago when Harry Hiestand stepped down as the team’s offensive line coach. That ended Hiestand’s second stint with the program, leaving a massive hole for one of the best offensive line coaches in recent memory.

Trying to find an “upgrade” isn’t the goal for this hire. You aren’t going to seamlessly replace a legend and immediately upgrade a coach who is directly credited with turning Notre Dame into “O Line U.”

The next coach will of course have expectations, including development, technical refinement and recruitment. The latter will be a part of the package that will be extremely interesting to keep an eye on. With plenty of resources in place, that is an area that you could argue may actually improve moving forward.

RESOURCES IN PLACE

On the recruiting side of things, it is a pretty easy sell to interest talented offensive lineman to Notre Dame. Regionally, there are usually a plethora of talented offensive lineman in the Midwest. On top of that, the history for how the program has developed players up front speaks for itself.

With names like Quenton Nelson, Zack Martin, Ronnie Stanley, Aaron Banks and Mike McGlinchey, you can just point to whichever name you would like for proof. That isn’t even counting current standouts Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, who could hear their names called very early next April in the 2024 NFL Draft potentially.

The next offensive line coach is fitting into a good position from a talent perspective. On top of a talented five-man class in the 2023 recruiting class, the 2024 group is also off to a solid start.

The Irish staff received an early commitment from Malvern (Pa.) Prep standout Peter Jones, who brings an incredible baseline of physicality, size and natural power. Although he plays offensive tackle for Malvern Prep, he does project really well inside.

For whoever takes over, Jones is a player that could provide easy excitement as they dig into the recruiting side of the job. He might not be flashy but Jones just gets stuff done, presenting a really nice foundation to build off of.

NEW OFFERS ALREADY ROLLING IN

Historically, Coach Hiestand liked to keep a smaller offensive line board on the recruiting trail. He was very particular in his targets, he would key in on players that fit what he wanted and he would then work to bring players from that board into the class.

That strategy allowed Notre Dame to get into great position with several talented 2024 offensive lineman outside of Jones, including Massachusetts standout Guerby Lambert and Pennsylvania native Caleb Brewer among a couple others. We are already seeing a shift on offensive line targets even without a coach in place.

On the Monday after the news broke, Notre Dame extended a pair of offers to two of the better offensive tackles in the 2024 class: Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst standout Andrew Sprague and Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei potential five-star Brandon Baker.

With both players being such highly acclaimed players, there is a question as to why neither had been offered before Coach Hiestand had chosen to retire. There won’t be deeper speculation as to why but it was interesting to see the timing with those offers.

I would anticipate one change to be a wider net casted for some elite offensive line recruits. Offers don’t necessarily have to indicate who are the priorities for a program, but this will allow the Irish staff to have a bigger board of prospects to pull from.

When there is transition at times, things can seem unsettled. The unknown can be a scary thing but not all new things have to be negative. For the new offensive line coach coming in, there are bountiful resources to work with, including the potential to attract high level talent, which should never be an issue at Notre Dame on the offensive line.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

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

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