Recruiting Profile: Notre Dame OL Harry Hiestand

Unlike the other coaching hires, Harry Hiestand’s impact on the Notre Dame program is already very familiar. After some time off following his second stint with the Chicago Bears (2018-19), Hiestand returned to the Irish this offseason. Combing through past recruiting impact can be imperfect - especially when evaluating a coach’s impact at programs from different levels and demographics.

For Hiestand, however, there is an easy analysis to make; his first stint with the Irish from 2012-17 gives us a clear view. In fact, there are players on the current roster that he recruited, or recruiting and coached (Josh Lugg).

Let's take a look at Hiestand's recruiting background.

CAREER SNAPSHOT

The majority of his coaching career would come as an offensive line coach, where he would spend time in the capacity at Toledo (1988-89), Cincinnati (1989-93), Missouri (1994-96), Illinois (1997-2004) and University of Tennessee (2010-11). Along with those responsibilities, Hiestand also served as the offensive coordinator while a part of the Bearcat program, as well as the assistant head coach while a part of the Illini program.

Hiestand walked into some pretty solid talent during his first tenure with the Irish, already having future NFL All-Pro Zack Martin on the roster, and Ronnie Stanley committed to Notre Dame shortly before Hiestand was hired. He also inherited future high draft picks Chris Watt and Nick Martin.

His impact on the recruiting trail, however, took what was a proud tradition and catapulted into “Offensive Line U”.

OFFENSIVE LINE U

Hiestand made an immediate impact on the recruiting trail. The five-man line haul in the 2013 class included three players that were ranked among the Top 100 recruits in the country by at least one service. Among that group was not Mike McGlinchey, who was also a part of that class. Four players from that class (McGlinchey, Steve Elmer, Hunter Bivin, Colin McGovern) started games for the Irish at some point during their careers.

That success would continue to the 2014 cycle, when Hiestand landed a class that arguably was even better than the previous class. Hiestand's 2014 class included five-star recruit Quenton Nelson, Top 100 recruit Alex Bars and two more four-stars in Sam Mustipher and Jimmy Byrne. Nelson and McGlinchey went on to be Top 10 NFL Draft picks and in the 2014 class both Mustipher and Bars went on to be captains for the Irish and have started games in the NFL.

The 2015 recruiting class was another success for Coach Hiestand, this time for slightly different reasons. The Irish were able to sign Top 100 offensive lineman Tristen Hoge. Despite Hoge eventually ending up with the BYU program, he would eventually develop into a plus starter for the Cougars.

Hiestand also played a significant role in Notre Dame landing Jerry Tillery, who committed to Notre Dame initially to play the offensive line. Tillery eventually moved to defense, where he eventually developed into a first round NFL Draft pick.

The outstanding recruiting continued in the 2016 class when Hiestand landed five-star lineman Tommy Kraemer and Top 100 tackle Liam Eichenberg. Kraemer was hindered by injuries throughout his career but still managed to start for four seasons. Finally able to stay healthy in 2021, Kraemer started three games as a rookie for the Detroit Lions despite being an undrafted free agent. Eichenberg was a three-year starter that earned consensus All-American honors in 2020 and was picked in the second round of the draft.

Hiestand's final full class was one of his best, with the Irish signing Top 100 lineman Robert Hainsey and four-star recruits Aaron Banks and Joshua Lugg. He also landed Dillan Gibbons, who started games for the Irish in 2020 before transferring to Florida State in 2021, where he became a full-time starter at guard.

Hainsey was a two-year captain and a third-round NFL Draft pick, while Banks was picked in round two after starting for 2 1/2 seasons at guard. Lugg is returning for a 6th season in 2022 with 22 career starts under his belt.

Hiestand recruited five full classes at Notre Dame, and during that stretch he recruited six composite Top 100 recruits. He recruited 10 players that were ranked as Top 100 recruits by at least one service.

If you only include the five full classes Hiestand recruited (2013-17), thirteen of the 18 offensive linemen to sign with Notre Dame during Hiestand's tenure were ranked as Top 200 recruits on the composite rankings, which is a 72.2% success rate. No other position group during that period was even at 50%.

BACK ON THE TRAILS

With the return of Coach Hiestand this off-season, there has been some whispers of concerns over his willingness to tackle the recruiting trails at a high rate, which is paramount under head coach Marcus Freeman. That hesitancy is understandable for a coach who has been out of action for a couple seasons, especially with his age being another factor.

Early feedback screams that those concerns are overstated. Hiestand has already hit the road and made his presence known. If the effort is there, Hiestand’s resume as a recruiter and developer speaks for itself.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @RiseNDraft
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter