On National Signing Day, we posted an overview of the 2017 Notre Dame recruiting class with recruit grades and some thoughts on the class. This is the second post of a four-part series that will dive into a little more detail on the class, following yesterday’s recap of the Irish’s offensive skill position signees. Today we look at the hog mollies up front, where the real football is played. Or so I hear. Enjoy!

The transcript of Brian Kelly’s signing day press conference can be found here.

Offensive Line Signees

247C Score 18S Grade Player City/State Ht/Wt Pos Stars
.9600 89 Robert Hainsey Monroeville, PA 6-4.5/276 OT * * * *
.9417 94 Josh Lugg Wexford, PA 6-7/293 OT * * * * *
.9251 88 Aaron Banks El Cerrito, CA 6-7/315 OT * * * *
.8847 80 Dillan Gibbons Clearwater, FL 6-4/311 OT * * *

Note: Hainsey and Gibbons were ranked as tackles by the recruiting services, which is why that’s their position in the table here, but almost certainly will be on the interior at the next level. We looked at them as guards in our ratings.

OT Josh Lugg

18S Average: 93.8

Brendan: 94

Lugg is an uber-athletic talent at tackle who is still learning the position, which makes it all the more impressive that he was utterly dominant at the Army game against five-star talent. Lugg absolutely mopped the floor with anyone he went against. He was a receiver as a freshman, a tight end as a sophomore, and an offensive lineman as a junior; he just kept growing, while not losing any athleticism. He has elite left tackle written all over him. He might have the highest upside of any Irish signee this year, and any offensive lineman in the country.

Eric: 90

Lugg is really quick off the snap which is a trait that’s great for offensive linemen and not just guys on defense. I love his punch and heavy hands. Like most Irish commits of his caliber he’s a punisher with his physicality. Lugg reminds me of Hunter Bivin coming out of high school. It hasn’t worked out much for Bivin but he was a really promising young player. I don’t love Lugg’s feet as a pass protector but most guys are a little raw there at his age. I like the way he moves otherwise which could make him like Bivin in that he can play all over the line in the future.

Jaden: 96

Lugg has the highest potential of anyone in the class. He’s going to be the real deal, and I believe he’s going to be a future 1st round draft pick. Looking at his frame, he looks like the perfect tackle. From his film, Lugg finishes every single block until the end of the play. At the All-American game, he enhanced his stock and outplayed pretty much everyone, proving that he is among the nation’s elite offensive linemen. Even with his boost in ranking on 247 up to #86 overall, I still think he is underrated. Standing at 6-7 and roughly 285 lbs, Lugg looks somewhat narrow still. He has a lot of room to add muscle, which is only going to make him more dominant. Barring a barage of injuries, Lugg will redshirt and battle Kraemer and Eichenberg for a starting spot in 2018.

Tyler: 95

Josh reminds me of Mike McGlinchey a lot. Excellent athlete, a little lean to play tackle at Notre Dame right now, but possesses all the tools you’d covet in a left tackle. Josh looked excellent during the week of the Army All American Game — not only holding his own against the best of the best, but dominating. He won the vast majority of his reps, even when he was going up against the 247 Composite’s new #1 overall player, defensive end Jaelen Phillips. After a redshirt year, I expect Josh to find his way onto the field.

OT Aaron Banks

18S Average: 87.8

Brendan: 90

Harry Hiestand told Banks to reshape his body if he wanted to succeed at the next level. Banks listened, as the early enrollee reported to campus looking like a different kid and another athletic mountain with attitude for Hiestand to shape into a dominant lineman. He does tend to stand up too much, so we’ll have to see if he lacks the flexibility to get low or if it’s just a technique issue. Combine his dedication to improve, as evidenced by his dramatic work in the weight room, with his natural nasty attitude, and I think we have a Grade A mauler on our hands. I don’t think he has the agility to be a left tackle, but I could see him developing into a front-line right tackle.

Also, I’m just going to drop a little before and after proof here. On the left is Banks at a camp event his junior year. On the right is Banks with his father when they got to campus to enroll last month. You be the judge.

Scout.com
247Sports.com

Eric: 87

He’s so damn big. In fact, way too big for high school and it’s good that he’s already trimmed down before participating in his first spring practice. Banks plays really high on the edge and can simply over-power people at the prep level. His feet seem okay and I can see why he’s projected to play guard by some. I’m okay with that idea, it always seems like only the guys with the best feet get to play tackle at Notre Dame. Due to his size Banks could turn into a really productive guard if he can get down lower. Start the training early!

Jaden: 85

Getting Banks on board was a giant (both literally and figuratively) gain for the Irish. Not only is he a good talent, but it provided a much-needed recruiting victory this winter and rounded out an exceptional offensive line class. Physically, Aaron Banks looks like a legitmate talent, and that was not the case a year ago. Hiestand has to be licking his chops to get ahold of Banks and make a player out of him. I think after a redshirt season, Banks is going to be right in the thick of things for earning a starting spot.

Tyler: 89

Aaron is a big boy. He’s athletic and moves pretty well. And I think his progress over the past year in reshaping his body speaks volumes about his drive and will to succeed. He doesn’t have as high of upside as Josh Lugg, but it’s up there. He should make a really good right tackle after a couple of years on campus.

OG Robert Hainsey

18S Average: 88.5

Brendan: 90

After some intial bumps, Hainsey held his own at the Under Armour practices. He’s quick, strong, mean, and technically advanced. He’s a little too short for the services to fall in love with him as a tackle, but I wouldn’t rule him out there just yet. On the other hand, if you compare him to Josh Lugg and Aaron Banks in this class or Tommy Kraemer and Liam Eichenberg in the previous class, he seems destined for the inside. I think he could be a multi-year starter on the inside, and a very good one at that.

Eric: 86

Physical hands. Once he gets his paws on you it’s over. Okay feet, though. He should be pretty mobile at guard but tends to play really high (gotta get those hands on you!) and reaches a lot at tackle. That won’t work on the edge in college. Otherwise, Hainsey is kind of hard to judge. Played with a bunch of all-stars in high school, didn’t play guard, and played okay at all-star weekend. A promising prospect but I’d argue not quite the high 4-star he’s ranked at right now.

Jaden: 90

Hainsey is a lineman to be excited about. Coming from IMG Academy and early enrolling, Hainsey has a huge jump start in development. At the UA game, Hainsey struggled early on, but eventually found his stride in a big way. He played both guard and tackle, and is seemingly more fit for the guard/center position. One knock Hainsey is that he’s not quick enough for speed rushers, which again makes him more suited for the inside. Hainsey has really fun film to watch. He absolutely annihilates a lot of people and displays really impressive strength. I expect him to redshirt and eventually become a multi-year starter.

Tyler: 88

Hainsey is vicious down there along the offensive line — a true mauler who you can tell just relishes putting guys on their back. I think just about everyone is in agreement that he’d be better suited inside, and he should be a very good guard for us as long as he can pack on another 30 pounds or so.

OG Dillan Gibbons

18S Average: 80.3

Brendan: 83

Hard to remember at this point, but Gibbons was the first commit of the 2017 class, pledging all the way back in April of 2015. Yes, 2015… He has always been listed as a tackle, and has always been expected to play guard for the Irish. Gibbons has taken big strides physically and technique-wise as a senior, enough that I considered grading him higher, but I still think he’s a bit less polished than the other linemen in this class and will need a little more time to make an impact. One thing he doesn’t need to work on is finishing – as I said in his commit post, he always looks like he wants to drive his man not to the turf but through it. Love that attitude.

Eric: 78

Gibbons has pretty good feet and gets out of his stance fairly well. My biggest issue is I don’t see the type of physicality that projects him as a starter at Notre Dame. He could always be a supreme technician, who knows. I wouldn’t mind giving him a look on defense to be honest. He could project pretty well as a nose guard.

Jaden: 80

Gibbons is a big boy who tackles both football players and eating challenges. He has improved his body since he first committed, but he will still need to add strength to give himself a chance of ever earning a starting role. He would project as an interior lineman, and I think will be a very serviceable backup at the very least.

Tyler: 80

If the Irish weren’t already stocked with talent along the offensive line, I’d surely give him a higher score. As it is, it will be pretty difficult for him to see the field much. That’s not to say this isn’t a good pickup, though. Dillan is talented enough to start at most Power 5 programs after a couple of years — I just don’t think it will happen at Notre Dame. Maybe he can prove me wrong.