Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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OFFENSIVE LINEMEN A co-starter at right tackle last year, junior Tommy Kraemer slid over to right guard this spring. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA QUOTABLE: NEW OFFENSIVE LINE COACH JEFF QUINN ON HIS PROMOTION THIS SPRING FROM OFFENSIVE ANALYST TO HARRY HIESTAND'S SUCCESSOR TO MENTOR THE LINE: "The dear Lord blessed me. For three years I prayed for it to happen for me and my family and it came true, so now we've got to take full advantage of this opportunity. "… Being here three years, I've studied Harry and I've studied how our offensive line has been coached, taught, developed, trained, and I'm certainly excited about continuing that tradition here." Starters ★★★★ All five of Notre Dame's projected starters were ranked as top-250 players by at least one service, and four were top-100 recruits. Fifth-year seniors Alex Bars and Sam Mustipher were selected as team captains and both are preseason All-America candidates. Junior right guard Tommy Kraemer and sophomore right tackle Robert Hainsey have starting experience while rotating at right tackle in 2017. They will now need to be full-time figures, so their stamina will be tested more this time. Junior left tackle Liam Eichenberg is the primary question mark due to his lack of experience. Collectively, the main question entering the opener against a highly regarded Michigan defense is how quickly can the unit jell, with only Mustipher and Hainsey returning to the same position they started last fall. Experience ★★★½ Returning experience along the offensive line has proven to be a vital ingredient to on-field success for Notre Dame under head coach Brian Kelly. Since 2012, the Irish have gone 41-11 overall and 23-2 at home in seasons they returned at least 60 career starts along their offensive line. That would seem to be good news in 2018 considering that the Irish return 65 career starts among four players there. Only two of the four returning linemen with starting experi- ence are playing the same position they lined up at last season, with Bars moving to left guard and Kraemer shifting to right guard. However, Bars started two games at left guard in 2015 and Kraemer was inserted at right guard in two games last season. Depth ★★★★ From the moment former offensive line coach Harry Hiestand arrived at Notre Dame prior to the 2012 season, the Irish have recruited and developed offensive linemen as well as any team in the country, which should benefit first-year position coach Jeff Quinn. All but one of Notre Dame's nine returning scholarship linemen were graded as four-star recruits by at least one recruit- ing service, and five were ranked as top-100 players. Notre Dame's returning linemen average 306.8 pounds, and the backup linemen are actually taller (6-5.3) and bigger (307.5 pounds) on average than the starters, which average 6-4.9 and 306.2 pounds. Senior Trevor Ruhland, sophomore Joshua Lugg and sopho- more Aaron Banks have all cross-trained at multiple positions, giving the reserves much-needed position flexibility. Overall Grade ★★★★ One should not project the Notre Dame offensive line to repeat its historic 2017 campaign. However, expecting the Fighting Irish to once again field one of the better lines in the country remains realistic. Notre Dame has everything you want in a returning offensive line: size, experience, depth and plenty of NFL-caliber talent again. On paper, the line should continue to be capable of car- rying the offense, especially if the skill positions improve as the season progresses. Another positive is that the line settled so quickly during spring practice. Eichenberg's emergence forced a re-shift of the line, but it happened early enough that the projected starting linemen spent half the spring working at the positions they will play in the fall, which should speed up the unit's development. BY THE NUMBERS 6 Seasons coached at Notre Dame by offensive line coach Harry Hiestand before return- ing to the Chicago Bears this winter. In those six seasons he developed six linemen who were drafted in the first three rounds (four in the first), the most in the country during that span. 12 Snaps that separated 2017 right tackles Robert Hainsey (455) and Tommy Krae- mer (443) last season while rotating at their position, whereas Sam Mustipher and Mike McGlinchey played 815, Quenton Nelson 809 and Alex Bars 757. This spring, Krae- mer was shifted to right guard so both he and Hainsey can start. 103 Games played in the Brian Kelly era (2010-17) — with each one manned by a future first-round NFL DRaft pick at left tackle: Zack Martin (2010-13), Ronnie Stanley (2014-15) and Mike McGlinchey (2016-17). Kelly also coached first- round and six-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley at Central Michigan (2004-06). PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern 72 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW