Notre Dame added another piece to its offensive line haul Tuesday afternoon when interior prospect Joe Otting verbally committed to the Fighting Irish. The 6’4″/275-pounder out of Topeka, Kansas is the 14th commit for Notre Dame’s class of 2023 and third along the offensive line.

Joe is one of only a few 2023 offensive linemen to receive an offer after the (re)hiring of Harry Hiestand, picking up his offer about a month ago in early May. He was in South Bend just this past weekend for the Linemen Camp. He worked out for the Notre Dame staff and reportedly looked terrific. He was given the green light to commit and took Marcus Freeman up on that offer before leaving campus.

Recruiting Service Rankings

Just a little heads up before I go over his rankings: the 247sports Composite was recently updated to include rankings from On3.

Rivals — 3 star (5.6 rating), NR overall, NR OG, #6 in KS

ESPN — 3 star (78 rating), NR overall, #27 OG, #5 in KS

On3 — 3 star (88 rating), NR overall, #43 IOL, #5 in KS

247Sports — 3 star (87 rating), NR overall, #44 IOL, #7 in KS

247Sports Composite — 3 star (.8750), #547 overall, #40 IOL, #6 in KS

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (90 rating)

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame, Joe currently holds offers from Iowa, Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas State, and New Mexico. He holds 11 total offers.

Highlights

After watching Otting’s film, I am of the opinion that he’s rated a bit low right now. He’s a superb athlete for an offensive lineman, and that makes his potential sky-high. He’s deadly for defenders on pulls and is adept at getting to the second level. He actually reminds me a bit of Ashton Craig from Notre Dame’s 2022 recruiting class. Both athletic interior prospects who need to put on some weight before arriving on campus. Jamie over at ISD has his Film Don’t Lie piece up on Otting right now (you can read it by following this link here) and compares him to/views his potential as former Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum, the Ravens’ other first-round draft pick this year.

Impact

I feel like I say this every time Notre Dame lands an offensive lineman, but it hasn’t stopped being true — the Irish have a ton of young talent in the offensive line room right now. With five signees in both the 2021 and 2022 classes, and the Irish expected to sign another five in 2023, anyone who sees the field over the next few years will have earned it. I expect Joe to take some time working with Balis to add the necessary bulk, but if he can do that and get stronger without losing his athleticism he’ll make his way onto the field and eventually into the NFL.


Welcome to the Irish family, Joe!