Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 6, 2021 17 Alt's time at tackle hasn't been flawless. He allowed two quarterback pressures versus Cincinnati on Notre Dame's final drive. He gave up a sack on the first drive at Virginia Tech, when Hokies defensive end Amaré Barno beat him with a spin move. All told, mis- steps are infrequent. He surrendered just one pressure in each of his first two starts. Those starts coincided with Notre Dame's best two rushing outputs — 180 yards against Virginia Tech and 170 versus USC — of the season. Playing offensive line requires more than physical traits and sound tech- nique, though, especially as a freshman. Alt draws strong reviews as a commu- nicator from Kelly and his teammates. It's a big reason why he clicked with the starters in short order when Notre Dame elevated him into the lineup for good. Offensive linemen need time to get used to each other's strengths, weak- nesses and tendencies. That cohesion doesn't develop at the snap of fingers. Alt sped up the feeling-out process by taking matters into his own hands, or more accurately, his own words. "He's very vocal out there," Kristofic said. "Sometimes you have your eyes inside and it's nice to have a guy who's communicating everything. "There are no secrets with him. He's screaming in your ear everything he's seeing." Fast progress aside, Alt needed injury and bumpy play in front of him to crack the starting lineup. Freshman starter and former five- star recruit Blake Fisher suffered a meniscus tear in the opener at Florida State. Sophomores Michael Carmody and Tosh Baker were next up. They split starts over the next four games, with each missing time due to injury and shuttling out of the lineup due to inconsistency. Alt replaced Carmody versus Cincinnati, and he has not left the lineup since then. A path had to clear for him, but he's entirely responsible for running down it. Earning a bit role as a blocking tight end before his chance at tackle speaks to his self-driven fast progress. He dressed in his No. 76 jersey, but pulled a No. 45 over it for his tight end snaps. Notre Dame ro- tated him in and out of the lineup and in and out of numbers. He didn't blink. Im- press here, and he just might get an ex- tended look as the next man up at tackle. It was natural because he did it be- fore. As a high school senior, he moved to left tackle from tight end when Tot- ino-Grace's starter was injured. "We brought two jerseys to the game," Anderson said. "He threw on the No. 76, went in there and played tackle and never missed a beat." Sounds familiar. ✦ Alt allowed just one quarterback pressure in each of his first two starts, and his insertion into the lineup also coincided with the Irish's two best rushing outputs — 180 yards against Virginia Tech and 170 versus USC — of the season to that point. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER