Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM DECEMBER 2023 17 2022, and one he proudly carries with him every day. "Stay the course, put my head down and work, that's always been the mes- sage," the younger Schrauth explained. "I've seen my parents go to work early in the morning every day growing up, so that's instilled in me and that doesn't change at all." Whether it was cleaning barns, mowing grass, washing trailers, milk- ing cows or whatever else he was asked to do, helping his parents around their modest family farm was a way of life for Billy growing up, as were the lessons he learned while doing his chores. "My upbringing taught me that noth- ing is given to you, everything is earned, and I wouldn't want it any other way," he said. "I want to feel that feeling of earning an opportunity, of earning what's in front of me." And what's in front of Schrauth is a chance to become an opening-day starter along the Irish offensive line as a junior next season, and possibly a long and lu- crative playing career well beyond that. "I owe my evolution to my team- mates; they've been pushing me to get better. But I put a lot of pressure on my- self, too," Billy said. "It's been good to see the progression. It's been hard and I've had to put a lot of work in." And even as a freshman who never played last season, Schrauth's team- mates still took quick notice in practice and appreciated the promise the rookie showed. When asked during Gator Bowl prep last season which of the young Irish interior lineman stood out most, veteran Irish defensive tackle Howard Cross III immediately singled out Schrauth. "Billy, 100 percent, Billy Schrauth," Cross said. "He's just strong, extremely fast and has hands like I've never seen. He knows what he's doing." AN UNLIKELY COURSE The fact that Billy Schrauth even ended up at Notre Dame was an unlikely and pleasant development. It's no secret that standout players from the Badger State — especially offensive linemen — almost dutifully play their college foot- ball at the University of Wisconsin. In fact, Schrauth became the first high school player from Wisconsin to sign with the Fighting Irish since of- fensive lineman Brian Beidatsch did so in 2001. But something felt different about Notre Dame for the entire Schrauth family. It was an attraction that Billy couldn't ignore while he was being re- cruited out of little St. Mary's Springs Academy — which has an enrollment of about 200 in grades 9-12 — by Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and then- offensive line coach Jeff Quinn. Schrauth was rated as a four-star re- cruit, the No. 2 overall prospect in Wis- consin and the nation's No. 9 interior lineman in the On3 Industry Ranking. Kelly and Quinn both departed before Schrauth signed his national letter of intent. But Schrauth stayed true to his verbal commitment when Marcus Free- man was hired as head coach and two months later brought in Harry Hiestand as his first offensive line coach. "Coaches come and go," Billy said. "But culture, and the stuff that is really important that are instilled in programs, and the tradition, that never leaves. That was something that I thought about a lot, and it drew me to Notre Dame. "It was the right fit for me and I'm re- ally thankful I ended up here." Freeman made certain that Schrauth wouldn't end up elsewhere. Only min- utes after Freeman was introduced as the next Irish head coach in December 2021, the new Irish skipper was whisked away and put on a flight to Fond du Lac, Wis., for an in-person visit with his star recruit. Schrauth held offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin and Oregon, just to name a few. So, he had plenty of terrific Plan B options that Freeman wanted to immediately squash. "I better be the No. 1 recruiter," Free- man said before the trip, stressing the importance of keeping his first recruit- ing class together. Hiestand spent only one season (2022) under Freeman at Notre Dame — Schrauth's freshman year — and then traded his whistle for golf clubs and re- tirement last February. But as fate would have it, a familiar face was brought in this preseason to replace Hiestand when Freeman hired veteran Joe Rudolph as his next offen- sive line coach. Rudolph recruited Billy to play for Wisconsin a few years prior when the former was an assistant in Madison, and the two built a strong and lasting relationship. Schrauth arrived at Notre Dame as an early enrollee freshman in January 2022 but never cracked the lineup, in part be- cause foot surgery required about four months of rehab and kept him out of spring ball. Fully recovered, the 6-foot-4½, 311-pound 2022 All-American Bowl in- vitee came out of spring ball this year healthy and looking like a lock to be- come an opening-day starter at one of the guard spots against Navy in Dublin, Ireland. Instead, he was beaten out during fall camp by junior Pat Coogan on the left side and junior Rocco Spindler on the right. Schrauth didn't necessarily become a rotation regular this season. But he did earn 76 snaps in 10 games as a reserve, often in mop-up duty, before his start against Wake Forest. "Not everything goes as planned. That's part of it," Schrauth conceded. "I've got great people ahead of me, and I've got great people below me. This pe- riod has been valuable for me and for everybody in our group." But in a case of one man's misery is another's opportunity, when a knee in- jury and subsequent surgery sidelined Spindler for the rest of this season, Schrauth was the next man in and ready to go. "Billy wants to play, he's a competi- tive guy," Tim Schrauth said. "But I al- ways told him to have patience because everybody at Notre Dame is a good foot- ball player. But when you get your op- portunity seize the moment." ✦ "Stay the course, put my head down and work, that's always been the message. I've seen my parents go to work early in the morning every day growing up, so that's instilled in me and that doesn't change at all." SCHRAUTH