Blue and Gold Illustrated

UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE for NFL riches, Hiestand's guys never want to leave. In just the last two years, four standout Notre Dame linemen — Zack Martin, Chris Watt, Nick Martin and Ronnie Stanley — all put profes- sional plans on hold and returned to school for one extra season of tutelage under Hiestand. That extra year of development helped make Zack Martin a 2014 first- round pick in the NFL Draft and an All- Pro selection last season for the Dallas Cowboys. Watt became a third-round pick and is now the starting center for the San Diego Chargers. Nick Martin, the Irish center this year and a fifth-year senior, is projected as a mid-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, while Stanley, a senior, is rated as pos- sibly the best left tackle in the same draft and a potential top-10 pick in the spring. An elite group of Notre Dame gradu- ates and upperclassmen, for sure, but Hiestand's collection of younger talent is equally impressive. If recruiting rankings hold up, the Irish may feature the best four-year group of linemen in the country from the 2013-16 recruiting classes. The five-man group from 2013 — ju- niors McGlinchey, Steve Elmer, Hunter Bivin, John Montelus and Colin Mc- Govern — was ranked as the No. 3 line class in the country. In 2014, the four-man haul— soph- omores Alex Bars, Quenton Nelson, Sam Mustipher and Jimmy Byrne (plus walk-on Sam Bush) — was rated the No. 2 offensive line, behind only Ala- bama. Add to the mix two fine freshmen from 2015, Tristen Hoge and Trevor Ruhland, and Hiestand has the deepest unit he has ever coached. "Under Coach Hiestand, I think the pipeline of Irish linemen going into the NFL is going to continue to blossom for years to come," said NFL Draft ana- lyst Scott Wright, founder and editor of DraftCountdown.com. Interestingly, Hiestand replaced for- mer Irish line coach Ed Warinner, who fled South Bend for Ohio State and won a national championship. Their close geographical proximity means these two coaches often fight for many of the same recruits, and Hiestand has won several of the key battles so far, even in Warinner's back yard. Liam Eichenberg and Tommy Krae- mer, two Ohio linemen rated near the top of the 2016 recruiting rankings, both bypassed the Buckeyes and head coach Urban Meyer to join Hiestand at Notre Dame. And more recently, Hiestand already landed Florida tackle Dillan Gibbons from the class of 2017, a star player who also had Ohio State as one of his finalists. "Coach Hiestand is the best offensive line coach in all of college football," Gibbons said. "Whatever he says I'm going to take to heart." Hiestand was anything but a house- hold name when he came to Notre Dame, but he's rapidly becoming one now. ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com

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