Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/380743
PREP PROFILES While there are no locks in recruit- ing, there are two things you can count on from Notre Dame — quality recruiting along the offensive line and success in the state of Ohio. C l e v e l a n d S t . Ignatius five-star o ff e n s i v e t a c k l e Liam Eichenberg i s t h e t o p t a r - get for the Notre D a m e c o a c h - ing staff, and it doesn't hurt that he's an offensive lineman from the Buckeye State. The 6-6, 280-pounder visited South Bend for the Irish Invasion on June 20, and it wasn't a major surprise to hear Eichenberg name Notre Dame his leader. "[Offensive line coach Harry] Hi- estand is very particular with his coaching technique," the class of 2016 recruit said. "He's just different. I love it. His coaching style is great. We were breaking down my film in the film room and I learned so much from what he was telling me. "He was saying that I have a really good punch. He said that I need to do a better job with my hands when kicking back far, and I need to work on pointing my feet the right way. I've never been told that, but it made sense. It's that kind of relationship that made it easy to call Notre Dame my leader." Offensive guard J i m m y B y r n e , a f r i e n d a n d f o r- m e r t e a m m a t e o f E i c h e n b e r g , signed with Notre Dame in the 2014 c l a s s . T h e t w o , along with a few o t h e r c u r r e n t m e m b e r s o f t h e Irish, spent some t i m e t o g e t h e r. That played a fac- t o r i n t h e I r i s h vaulting to the top of his leader- board. " I t w a s g re a t s e e i n g J i m m y, " Eichenberg said. "I could tell that he loves it up there from the look on his face. I also spent time with [offensive lineman] Nick Martin. We ended up hanging out at his house. "It's that type of relationship and camaraderie that makes me like Notre Dame even more. Everyone is close there, and that's why they have had so much success on the field." Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State are the three finalists for Eichenberg, but a decision isn't ex- pected until after his junior season. — Tom Loy Five-Star Offensive Tackle Tabs Irish As His Leader LIAM EICHENBERG ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ St. Ignatius High School Cleveland Status: Offered Class: 2016 Position: Offensive Tackle Ht.: 6-6 · Wt.: 280 40-Yard Dash: 5.10 247Sports Rankings: No. 7 overall recruit in the 2016 class, No. 2 offensive tackle nation- ally and No. 1 player in Ohio