Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 FEBRUARY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED T alented position groups lose talent. Perhaps no one on Notre Dame football's coach- ing staff knows that better than offensive line coach Joe Rudolph. After each of the three seasons he's coached at Notre Dame since joining head coach Marcus Free- man's staff in March 2023, Rudolph watched talented and experienced players leave his position group. Following Notre Dame's 2023 season, left tackle Joe Alt (33 starts) and right tackle Blake Fisher (27 starts) left South Bend early to enter the NFL Draft, and center Zeke Cor- rell (31 starts) transferred to North Carolina State. Three more signifi- cant transfer portal departures fol- lowed the 2024 season: center Pat Coogan (26 starts) to Indiana, guard Rocco Spindler (23) to Nebraska and guard Sam Pendleton (seven) to Tennes- see. The biggest shoes Rudolph will need to fill this offseason are NFL departures once again: right tackle Aamil Wagner (28) and left guard Billy Schrauth (22). The roster turnover on the offensive line has been so substantial each offsea- son that losing 50 starts feels more rou- tine than concerning. Rudolph's Notre Dame tenure to date has been defined by his ability to handle those annual de- partures and prepare his offensive line to overcome key injuries. His challenge this offseason won't be as difficult as prepar- ing the 2024 offensive line starters, which included just nine career starts, to open the season in Texas A&M's Kyle Field, but it should say more about what Rudolph's building within Notre Dame's program. Although the Irish should have two offensive linemen selected in April's NFL Draft, the 2025 offseason line didn't quite rise to the standard as one of the best in college football. Opinions will vary on how far Notre Dame was from fielding the best offensive line in college football this past season, but the Joe Moore Award offers some ways to put the Irish offensive line in context. The Joe Moore Award, which was founded in 2015, recognizes annually the best offensive line in college foot- ball. And it does so with a voting sub- committee that may be more obsessed with its task than maybe any other col- lege football award. That group includes former offensive linemen and former offensive line coaches. Notre Dame made the lists of 10 semi- finalists for the Joe Moore Award in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Though Notre Dame finished the regular season ranked No. 11 in the FBS for allowing just 1.0 sack per game and No. 17 in rush- ing offense with 203.4 rushing yards per game, the Irish didn't make the semifi- nalist cut in 2025 after being one of the 24 units highlighted on the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll in October. Notre Dame's lack of success in short- yardage runs may have played a role lim- iting the praise for the Irish offensive line. The starting offense finished the season converting just 53.2 percent of third and fourth downs of three yards or less. That dropped from a 71.6 percent conversion rate in the 2024 season. An offensive line can best flex its dom- inance in short-yardage situations. If an offensive line moves the line of scrim- mage when the defense is expecting a run, there's no more impressive accom- plishment. Notre Dame didn't quite have that in its offensive arsenal in 2025. Will that change in 2026? Ru- dolph certainly should have an of- fensive line talented enough to be considered elite. A rough projec- tion of a two-deep depth chart for next season includes 10 offensive linemen who as recruits received at least one four- or five-star rat- ing from either On3 or Rivals. The three five-star ratings belonged to Charles Jagusah in the 2023 class, Guerby Lambert in the 2024 class, and Will Black in the 2025 class. At least two of those linemen should be in next year's starting lineup. Making sure Notre Dame maxi- mizes that talent is far more im- portant than the talent projections that were made on them as high schoolers. Both Wagner and Schr- auth might not be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft with an overall se- lection better than their overall ranking in the 2022 recruiting class from On3. Wagner was ranked No. 29 overall as a five-star recruit. Schrauth was ranked No. 88 overall as a four-star recruit. Maybe in a previous era, like when Harry Hiestand coached Notre Dame's offensive line (2012-17 and 2022), Wagner and Schrauth would have returned for an- other season with the Irish before making the NFL leap. But Rudolph's tenure con- tinues to be filled with roster churn. Rudolph will be tasked once again this offseason to find the best combination of five starters and an important group of backups ready to fill in upon injury. But 2026 needs to be the year that Notre Dame's offensive line transcends capabil- ity and reliability and becomes dominant. Continue to let quarterback CJ Carr feel comfortable in his dropbacks as a red- shirt sophomore. Pave the way for a less experienced and probably less explosive running back group. Set the tone in the season opener rather than be a liability. Freeman wants his program to be driven by the linemen on both sides of the ball. It's time for Rudolph to steer the 2026 of- fensive line down the path to elite. ✦ Junior left tackle Anthonie Knapp can play a big role in helping Notre Dame elevate its offensive line play in 2026. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Irish Offensive Line Needs To Be Dominant In 2026 Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES