Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 77 OFFENSIVE LINEMEN Senior Tommy Kraemer has streamlined his frame to be more effective at right guard. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL DID YOU KNOW? During head coach Brian Kelly's first eight seasons, Notre Dame had a future first-round pick starting at left tackle: current All-Pro guard Zack Martin (2010-13) of the Dallas Cowboys, followed by Ron - nie Stanley (2014-15) of the Balti- more Ravens and Mike McGlinchey (2016-17) of the San Francisco 49ers. Current senior Liam Eichenberg, who has another year of eligibility remaining in 2020, could be on a similar path. The last position group with a similarly long first-round repre - sentation was defensive tackle during head coach Ara Parseghi- an's 11 seasons from 1964-74, plus through 1975: Kevin Hardy (1964-66), Mike McCoy (1967-69), Mike Kadish (1969-71), and then Steve Niehaus (1972-75) and Mike Fanning (1973-74). 2018 VS. 2019: STOCK UP OR DOWN? Standout guard Alex Bars going down in game five with an ACL tear was a major blow for the 2018 line, but it should prove beneficial to the 2019 unit. Bars' injury opened up an opportunity for Aaron Banks to make six starts, and three others who started the final four games with Banks all return. Junior right tackle Robert Hainsey and senior right guard Tommy Kraemer enter their third seasons as starters, and senior Liam Eichenberg is back after starting every game at left tackle in 2018. According to Pro Football Focus, three of Notre Dame's five best run-blocking grades and four of the team's five best pass-blocking grades came late in the season after Banks was inserted into the lineup. Leadership is still developing, but a strong spring has generated plenty of optimism about the line. X-FACTOR The newcomer to the starting lineup is Jarrett Patterson, a sophomore who seized the starting center role during the spring. How well he performs could ultimately dictate the success of the line. Notre Dame's most experienced returner — senior right guard Tommy Kraemer — is on Patterson's right and junior Aaron Banks will be to his left. The tackles — Liam Eichenberg and Robert Hain- sey — are expected to be the line's strength. No matter how well the returning veterans play, the line cannot excel unless Patterson blossoms quickly. If his out- standing play during the spring continues into the fall, the line could become one of the nation's best. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK Notre Dame landed what Rivals ranked as the nation's third best offensive line haul in the 2019 class. Also, for the first time in the Rivals era — which began in 2002 — the Irish signed three blockers who ranked among the top 130 players in the country. Right tackle Quinn Carroll is the most advanced, and like Patterson a season ago he is poised to earn a backup tackle spot immediately. Tackle Andrew Kristofic, center Zeke Correll and guard John Olmstead are all projected to redshirt. QUOTABLE: SENIOR RIGHT GUARD TOMMY KRAEMER ON LOSING HIS STARTING JOB LAST YEAR BEFORE REGAINING IT AND THEN GETTING INTO PRIME CONDITION THIS SPRING: "That was the best thing for me. Coach [Chip] Long talked to me about it, used it to fire me up, and it did. … I'm happy that it happened. Last year there were definitely ups and downs, and I want to make sure that never happens again. I really focused on myself, my game, my body. "… You have to improve every day, and I have a lot of stuff to improve on. I didn't want to have a season like last year where I was an up-and-down player." NOTABLE DATA Among the 39 offensive line prospects signed by Notre Dame in the past 11 years (2008-18), 36 were redshirted as freshmen (92.3 percent). The three exceptions were Trevor Robinson (2008), Steve Elmer (2013) and Robert Hainsey (2017) — all of whom were early enrollees. All four of this year's offensive line recruits enrolled early, a first at Notre Dame for that position group. That doesn't mean any of them will start like the aforementioned trio, and the one that perhaps has the best chance to see ac- tion this season is reserve tackle Quinn Carroll. However, junior Joshua Lugg is viewed as the "sixth starter" at either guard, tackle or center. With freshmen offensive linemen, they will be either in a starting or co-starting role, or they will be redshirted.