Hopefully you enjoyed our overview of the 2022 Notre Dame recruiting class with recruit grades and some thoughts on the class. We’re in the midst of a deeper dive on each position group, which started Tuesday with the offensive skill positions. Today we’re looking in the trenches on offense, where Notre Dame has put together one of the best offensive line classes in the country.

As a reminder, here’s our standard grading scale for this exercise:

95-100: Truly elite prospect with All-American potential
90-94: Multi-year starter with All-conference level potential
85-89: Eventual starter with chance to play as underclassman
80-84: Raw prospect with decent potential but a couple years away from impact
75-79: Likely a backup
70-74: Reach by the coaching staff

Signees

247C 18S Grade Player City/State Ht/Wt Position Stars
0.9550 92 Aamil Wagner Dayton, OH 6-6/265 OT * * * * *
0.9405 91 Billy Schrauth Fond Du Lac, WI 6-5/300 IOL * * * *
0.9380 88 Joey Tanona Zionsville, IN 6-5/295 OT * * * *
0.9154 86 Ty Chan Groton, MA 6-6/300 OT * * * *
0.8789 86 Ashton Craig Lawrenceburg, IN 6-5/283 OT * * *

OT Aamil Wagner

18S Average: 91.7

Brendan: 92

When Wagner committed, ISD’s Jamie Uyeyama projected his ceiling as “a meaner Ronnie Stanley.” Umm… Yes please. Wagner is absurdly good on the move for his size, and has that ferocious attitude already. The one knock on him is plain old mass – he’s very lean, and his development in the weight room may be a preequisite to his development on the field. On the other hand, he was just at the All-American Bowl and shut down some elite pass rushers in 1-on-1 drills and then went to the Polynesian Bowl and did it again. He already shows plenty of power, so maybe frame should be less of a concern. If it all comes together, he could be as good as any tackle the Irish have had since Harry Hiestand’s first stint on campus.

Eric: 93

Light in the britches but super athletic for an offensive lineman. Moves extremely well and is very fluid without any lumbering. Plays a little high but shows good power and arrives at defenders with a punch. Genuinely looks like he will need to add 40 pounds but has the frame to support that much weight. Not a big hurry to rush his development which is good. Wagner is both a great prospect but also a bit of a project for some with this type of a grade.

Tyler: 90

Wagner’s ceiling is absolutely sky-high, BUT he has some work to do with Balis before he will be ready to see the field. You could make an argument that he’s a boom-or-bust type of prospect and I wouldn’t fight with you too much over it. So much is going to depend on his physical development over the next couple of years, but the athleticism and physical tools to be a high draft pick are definitely there. The good news is Notre Dame doesn’t need to rush him onto the field. There is plenty of time with FIsher and Alt at tackle right now.

IOL Billy Schrauth

18S Average: 90.7

Brendan: 95

You watch Schrauth’s tape and you just see raw power over and over. He moves very well, but in high school he was clearly at his best on the inside of both offensive and defensive line. The Irish staff has reportedly thrown around Big Q’s name when discussing Schrauth, which… is something. He was made available for the media as an early enrollee the other day and told the beat guys that he already loves Hiestand and, when asked if he preferred left tackle because that’s where the big pro money is, he said, “It ain’t about that for me, it’s about hitting guys.” Bill Parcells used to say that he wanted the guys who would get a game together in the parking lot with nobody there to watch it. Schrauth is a parking lot guy. Big things ahead for him.

Eric: 87

Does finally signing an offensive lineman from Wisconsin come with a free fullback or something? Schrauth has really good size and filled out nicely over the past couple years of high school. Shows pretty good athleticism and quick feet, driving defenders back with force as much as pure brute strength. Notre Dame has tended to do much better in taking tackle recruits and moving them to guard, whereas Schrauth is much more in the mold of a standard guard prospect. I think he can play guard or center and should have a nice career.

Tyler: 90

Billy is a really good athlete who has experience playing on both sides of the ball at a high level. Has been recruited by some schools to play defensive tackle, and the quickness and fluidity required to play that position shows on film. He’s probably athletic enough to play tackle, but could be an elite guard in a few years.

OT Joey Tanona

18S Average: 88.3

Brendan: 90

Sort of an excitement casualty due to being the first commit in the class, as it’s been more than a year and a half since Tanona pledged to the Irish. He’s a lunchpail interior brawler at the next level, probably a couple of years away from an impact but I think he’ll be a good one. He’s a tough, strong kid who just wants to go out and knock people over.

Eric: 87

A big kid with long arms that make him look even more large. Plays with a requisite violence. Tanona picked up experience in high school at both tackle and center which is pretty rare to see for a blue-chip prospect. I like him more on the inside somewhere. I think once he picks up more strength and better footwork with his lower-half he’s going to be tough to keep off the field.

Tyler: 88

Tanona’s potential is highest on the inside, although he has experience at every position along the offensive line. Plays with power and has the frame to probably get around 320 pounds.

OT Ty Chan

18S Average: 85.7

Brendan: 89

A year ago Chan was a lean, athletic edge prospect. At some point he went from lean to absolutely MASSIVE, not bad weight from the looks of it, but I can’t see him on the edge anymore. He still moves really well for his size and could definitely develop into a huge athletic guard, similar to Aaron Banks. I would guess he’s a couple of years away from playing but I can see him being a front line guy eventually. Maybe right tackle isn’t out of the question either if his coordination grows to where his frame has.

Eric: 84

A big freaking kid who has already put on a lot of weight since he came on Notre Dame’s radar and committed so long ago. For sure a guard in my opinion. Chan looks like he’s still getting used to his increased size. He struggles to move his feet and looks to labor at times. Reminds me a lot of Hunter Spears from the 2019 class who bounced between defense and offensive lines. It’s possible Chan converts into a nose guard.

Tyler: 84

A year ago I would have told you he could play guard or tackle, but he looks like a guard all the way now. Will need to spend some time with Balis reshaping his body a little bit as he seems to have lost a step after gaining weight over the last year or so. Struggled a little bit during All Amerian week, but that’s probably to be expected of a kid of Massachusetts.

OT Ashton Craig

18S Average: 85.7

Brendan: 87

Craig is the fourth offensive line signee in this class who played tackle for his high school team, which says something about the athleticism of this group. He has really good feet and looks great out in space, better than you would think from his ranking. I don’t think he has the frame to be on the edge at the next level, but otherwise he has a lot of potential. Reportedly the staff considers him a center, which checks out with how he profiles. Like Tyler said, he started piling up offers from big name schools last summer as he camped around the Midwest. The Irish staff doesn’t believe the recruiting services here and neither do I. This kid is a player.

Eric: 85

Sneaky good athlete! Plays with a physicality and edge way beyond his size. Looks to have added some positive weight later in his high school career so he won’t be too behind the curve physically at Notre Dame. I want to see more of his frame after working with Balis and whether he’s for sure a center or if he can play guard, too. There’s something about his DNA as a player that makes me feel he’ll overachieve with the Irish.

Tyler: 85

Ashton’s a real diamond in the rough who started racking up offers over the summer after camping at multiple schools. Notre Dame has recruited him to play center, and (assuming he retains most of his athleticism after bulking up) he will likely be the most athletic center on the roster.