Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/998819
70 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW OFFENSIVE LINEMEN I n 2017, the return of four starters along the offensive line, headlined by 2016 All- Americans Quenton Nelson and Mike Mc- Glinchey, a proven back in Josh Adams, and inexperience at quarterback necessitated an attack built on physicality and the run game. Hence, the Irish improved from 163.3 rushing yards per game during the 4-8 melt- down in 2016 to 269.5 and No. 7 in the country during the 10-3 improvement in 2017. Gone is Nelson, the nation's top offensive guard. Gone is McGlinchey, the nation's top offensive tackle. Gone is Adams, who rushed for 1,430 yards last season. And gone is line coach Harry Hiestand (to the Chicago Bears), who had developed the unit since 2012. How much will Notre Dame retain its run- game identity from 2017? "We've thrown the ball much more than we've run it because of those things that we wanted to grow in," head coach Brian Kelly said, regarding what his offense worked on this spring. "… It's hard for me to say, 'Hey, we're so much better running the football without Nelson and McGlinchey.' "We've been focusing on other things, quite frankly." Despite returning four regulars from last season, sorting out the unsettled left side that graduated Nelson at guard and McGlinchey at tackle was crucial. It began this spring with former right tackle Robert Hainsey at left tackle and backup center Trevor Ruhland at left guard. Next it was Hainsey at tackle and his former 2017 co-starter at right tackle, Tommy Krae- mer, next to him at left guard. Finally, the best possible combination may have been achieved with junior Liam Eichenberg at left tackle and 2017 starting right guard Alex Bars at left guard. Here's why: First, Hainsey returned to right tackle, where he excelled last season. Second, Kraemer also gets to shift back to his more natural right-handed stance while working next to Hainsey as the right guard. Third, Eichenberg's 6-6, 303-pound frame, to go with competent footwork, might be a better option to protect the blind side of Notre Dame's right-handed quarterbacks. Fourth, because Eichenberg is the lone new starter along the offensive line, it was prudent to move third-year starter Alex Bars — who made his first two collegiate starts in 2015 at left guard — to provide some aid next to him. "He's learning, so why not move a veteran next to him where he can communicate with him, help him pass off twists, give him some [guidance] prior to the snap and settle him?" Kelly said of Eichenberg. McGlinchey wasn't prepared for a full- time role until his third season, and the same has been true of Eichenberg. Bars began his career at left tackle as a 2014 freshman, started two games at left guard in 2015, all 12 games at right tackle in 2016 and all 13 games at right guard in 2017, so change is hardly alien to him. Nevertheless, many a change has taken place along the 2018 Irish line. ✦ QUOTABLE: HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY ON THE PROGRESS AND MATURITY OF NEW STARTING LEFT TACKLE LIAM EICHENBERG: "What we really like about Liam is his strength, his size, his physicality. He can stand up to different pass rushes we're going to get out there, the bull rush, and he's long enough to help off the edge. "It's been more mental than anything else, the ability to settle down. He didn't play with the kind of confidence he needed to [in 2017]. Emotionally, he's in a comfort level." TOUGH ACTS TO FOLLOW Replacing major cogs up front will be a prime issue in 2018 Junior Liam Eichenberg seized the starting spot at left tackle, where an eventual first-round NFL Draft pick has started every game in head coach Brian Kelly's eight seasons. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL