Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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2022 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BILLY SCHRAUTH OFFENSIVE LINEMAN 6-4 · 272 ST. MARY'S SPRINGS H.S. CAMPBELLSPORT, WIS. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE consensus ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 127 9 2 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 88 5 1 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 235 6 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 86 3 2 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 168 5 2 STATISTICS • Led St. Mary's Springs to a WIAA Division 6 state championship game appearance and helped the offense average 250 rushing yards per game during his senior season. • Had 14 tackles for loss and paved the way for a rushing attack that averaged 275.3 yards per game in six games during his junior season. • State champion in 2018 and 2019. NOTABLE • Born on Sept. 9, 2003. • 2022 All-American Bowl participant. • 2021 Associated Press Wisconsin first-team offense. • 2021 Wisconsin Football Coaches Association first-team offense and defense. • 2021 MaxPreps All-Great Lakes Region High School Football second-team offense. • Finalist for the Joe Thomas Award, which goes to the top offensive lineman in Wisconsin. • First player from Wisconsin to sign with the Fighting Irish since Brian Beidatsch in 2001. • Older brother, Sam, was an offensive lineman for Minnesota State. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on Dec. 10, 2021. • Enrolled at Notre Dame in January 2022. • Picked Notre Dame over finalists Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin. • Recruited by offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and former offensive line coach Jeff Quinn. • Visited Notre Dame for home games in Novem- ber 2019 and October 2021, plus took an official visit in June 2021. • Was considered a strong Notre Dame lean going into his junior season but held off from com- mitting. Stretch his recruitment out much longer than expected but picked the Irish over Wisconsin. 2022 PROJECTION • Had surgery on his foot in January, which will set him back. If healthy, can battle for a starting position on the interior of Notre Dame's offensive line. THEY SAID IT Former Notre Dame linebacker Mike Goolsby: "He looks great on film. He doesn't seem as domi- nant to me as [Notre Dame offensive line signee] Joey Tanona in terms of blowing people off the ball, but his technique is great. "You can move him around on the offensive line as well. When you watch him play defense, you can see his overall athleticism." National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming: "Schr- auth is talented enough to play either offense or defense at the next level and a very hard-nosed and passionate football player. He has a blue-collar work ethic and shows explosive moves off the ball. He can dominate the middle of the line, has quick hands and shows a good natural burst. As consistent as they come, Schrauth effectively fights through many double teams. "He's pretty strong in the upper body and domi- nates just about every player he goes up against on both sides of the ball. Schrauth is a superior finisher and will play until the whistle. He shows All-American skills at guard, but he can also domi- nate at defensive tackle." BY PATRICK ENGEL There's merit to the cliché, Billy Schrauth says. But not in the obvious way it might suggest. "Farm boy strength" is real, per Schr- auth, who spent part of his childhood working on his neighbor's 600-acre plot of land near Fond du Lac, Wis. There were 4:45 a.m. alarms. There were three-hour shifts in the morning and evening spent milking cows, man- ning the fields and undertaking other thankless tasks. The strength, though, is not just physical. "It's more mental strength," Schrauth said. "I never really enjoyed it too much, but you have to get through it. Just hav- ing to do that every day, it showed me you're not going to love everything you do, but you have to get through it." Kind of like playing interior offensive line, which Schrauth will do at Notre Dame beginning this January. Smashing into 300-pound men for three hours a day requires special mental fortitude — the kind that needs to be developed and honed. The same kind developed on a farm. Schrauth's farm work took a backseat to football when his talent on the field became obvious. He started picking up Division I offers as a high school sopho- more and blossomed into a top-150 re- cruit, per the On3 Consensus. The Schrauth family also sold their own farm and moved. Billy's father, Tim, works as a part-time livestock dealer in the area. He occasionally rides with Tim on his livestock deals, but that's about the extent of his farm- related labor these days. He has grander visions anyway. In hindsight, its ben- efits only become clearer. "I'm glad I was around it when I was young, because I knew it was some- thing I never wanted to do," Schrauth said. "I respect the hell out of everyone who does it, because they work really hard." It taught him to do the same and em- brace it. "I'll always have a chip on my shoul- der," Schrauth said. "It's the way I'm wired." ✦ Farmwork Helped Shape Billy Schrauth's Mental Toughness Schrauth spent part of his childhood working on his neighbor's 600-acre farm near Fond du Lac, Wis. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER 66 MARCH 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED