A poor start to 2021 and injuries put the offensive line in a spotlight as a weak link on the team before things stabilized over the last half of the season. Now, the line welcomes back its star center Jarrett Patterson who passed up an opportunity for the NFL, a new coach with a familiar face is back in town, and spirits are once again sky-high for the Irish up front.
Best of all, this group should hit the ground running and be the backbone of the team this spring as Marcus Freeman opens up his first full year with the program.
Predicted 2022 Lineup
*Official 2022 roster size
1ST-TEAM
LT Blake Fisher, r-FR, 6-6, 335*
LG Andrew Kristofic, r-JR, 6-5 1/4, 295*
C Jarrett Patterson, 5th SR, 6-4 1/2, 307*
RG Josh Lugg, 6th SR, 6-6 7/8, 305*
RT Joe Alt, SO, 6-7 5/8, 305*
2ND TEAM
LT Michael Carmody, r-SO, 6-5 1/2, 290*
LG Billy Schrauth, FR, 6-4, 272*
C Zeke Correll, r-JR, 6-3, 295*
RG Rocco Spindler, r-FR, 6-4 5/8, 300*
RT Tosh Baker, r-SO, 6-8, 307*
Reserves:
C Pat Coogan, r-FR, 6-5 1/8, 305*
OT Caleb Johnson, r-FR, 6-5 5/8, 287*
OT Aamill Wagner, FR, 6-6, 265
OG Joey Tanona, FR, 6-5, 284*
OG Ty Chan, FR, 6-6, 300
OG/C Ashton Craig, FR, 6-5, 283
3 Questions
1) Baker or Alt at Left Tackle?
The consensus among the beat media seems to be that Joe Alt has risen from unheralded recruit to freshman All-American and is going to stay at left tackle for 2022. Remember, when Blake Fisher came back miraculously for the Fiesta Bowl he did not reclaim the left side position and switched to right.
But, I’ll put in a prediction that Fisher earns the left tackle position back and remains there until he leaves for the NFL. It’s possible that Alt has truly developed to an incredible degree (relative to his recruiting hype he certainly did!) but I need to see more before I believe he’s surpassed a possibly generationally gifted Fisher who won the job outright last off-season.
2) Can Lugg Hang on to a Job?
Josh Lugg announced he was returning to Notre Dame for a 6th season and taking advantage of the extra Covid year and at the time I expressed some confusion and dismay at this decision. At best, Lugg has been a steady performer and at worst he’s been an underachieving liability with injury concerns.
Now, he heads into spring practice coming off knee surgery and has to go through the grind again to stay healthy. A few scenarios seem possible now. One, Lugg recuperates into the summer, opens fall camp as the starter, and never looks back. Two, the offense is impressed by someone like Rocco Spindler in the spring and he eventually takes the job from Lugg even if it takes a few games in the fall. Three, with Lugg’s injury history he’s never really able to get back into a groove at guard and we never see him start or have much of an impact in 2022.
Going against Lugg’s chances are that he has been quite poor playing at guard relative to his experience at tackle. Working in his favor is the lack of guard prospects ready to compete this off-season. For example, if it’s not Spindler’s time who is competing with Lugg for a starting spot? Unless he ends up medically retiring or something along those lines Lugg will be in the mix. How long that lasts, I’m not sure.
3) Will Hiestand Immediately Improve the Run Blocking?
I’ll blame Jack Coan’s pocket presence as much as anyone but there were some brutal moments in pass blocking early in 2021 with players like Tosh Baker suffering blows to their confidence that make you wonder if he will ever be able to come back from such a struggle.
But, the pass blocking got pretty good! We mentioned Alt’s presence, the team really liked what they found from Andrew Kristofic settling in at left guard, and having Fisher for an entire season in 2022 undoubtedly has to make everyone feel like the pass-blocking will be top notch.
Will this unit run block really well under Hiestand’s tutelage? We’re expecting mobile quarterback Tyler Buchner to make this group’s job easier and heading into 2022 the offense has to like what they have from the veteran Patterson returning and anchoring the middle.
I think guard is going to be an interesting question mark all off-season. There really isn’t anyone on the roster right now primed for that position whose a big road grader in size or with emerging NFL-level talent. Eventually, the program hopes Spindler will get to that point and he walks into a very important off-season.
Overview
When Harry Hiestand first came to Notre Dame in 2012 he worked with veteran starters Zack Martin, Chris Watt, and Braxston Cave as pillars of the line. However, he also dealt with journeyman Christian Lombard at tackle and the overachieving but pretty average Mike Golic, Jr. at guard.
He should arguably feel better about the 2022 offensive line. Patterson is better than Cave at center and I don’t think it’s absurd to think that Joe Alt is already better than Christian Lombard ever was at Notre Dame. Plus, knowing you have the tackle spots locked down long-term with this type of potential has to feel really great.
However, with great expectations comes great pressure. It’ll be important to navigate the Lugg health and productivity this off-season and hit the ground running when the team enters Ohio Stadium to kick off 2022.
I wonder if Lugg is taking this year in an attempt to transition to coaching quickly after school. Would probably be beneficial to even have a year like Hamilton did after his injury. That could make him a great GA candidate.
Edit – whoops, this is a fail, didn’t mean to have it as a reply to juice but a standalone comment. False start on me.
Guard is definitely the point of interest, specifically if Spindler can pass a more experienced player. If they’re going to move Alt to RT I would question just how strong Kristofic’s hold on LG is. If there’s no left side continuity with Alt-Kristofic, that’s a hit for his job security there, I would think.
Good place to be with 2 really impressive tackles from the bowl game (their performance against great OK St rushers leaves a really positive feeling) and Patterson to anchor the middle. Just a matter of which two out of Lugg, Spindler and Kristofic to fill it out.
I really don’t think Lugg is coming back to medically retire or with a mind right now to think about coaching, he’s coming back to play. Will they defer to his experience or will that experience push him to starting? I would think so, though the door is open in spring for the younger guys to make a mark.
So by summer camp, I anticipate it’s Kristofic vs Spindler for one starting spot.
Not for nothing, but HH actually recruited Lugg so he has some background there and obviously liked him as a prospect at the time he joined the team. I tend to bet against incumbent OL starters losing their jobs (assuming they filled the role capably), so my guess is that Kristofic will be back at LG in the fall. Then again, Harry wasn’t the coach of this group, and if Spindler really shows out in the spring, who knows.
Regardless, it’s good to have more viable options this year than last, and ’23 could be an incredible unit if we have a proper replacement for Patterson in the middle.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the OL shakes out. There are so many young players with potential. Harry H. is really walking into a nice situation. He already has what looks like a very good first group, with players on the second group that could push that first group or at least be solid backups. Too early to worry about it but, there are guys that could be looking at the portal in a year or so.
Yeah, I’m kinda surprised all of Baker, Correll and Carmody are still around. Their paths to playing aren’t there in 2022. I would guess they get diplomas and are gone by 2023.
I guess if Correll is patient enough he could presumably finally start at center in 2023, but by then I assume some of the younger players will be pushing into spots to play as well. Should be a lot of turnover either way in the next 12 months but still looking great with Alt and Fisher around.
I wonder if HH could work a mini miracle with Baker. My god what a massive human. There doesn’t look to be an opening for him at tackle. He and Carmody only seem to have a chance if there is an injury. Then they, along with Correll have to check the rearview mirror to see if anyone younger is gaining on them.
I know, I really thought Baker was going to be the next in the line of 1st round pick tackles. All the tools were all there, but his play in 2021 was shockingly poor.
That’s a great storyline though as to which linemen might rise with Hiestand instruction, but he can’t be expected to be a miracle worker. Also a knock on him from his first stint was his focus and concentration on the starters at the expense of the backups, which I guess is kinda par for the course the starters are naturally much more important…But Baker is also seems like a prime “get lost in the shuffle guy”, since Lugg could conceivably be bumped to tackle in case of injury and have Kristofic/Spindler at guard. Just depends how they set it up.
Sometimes a coach sees a player with so much to offer (Baker?) that it becomes a prime focus of his attention. That said, quite often that potential never actually reaches fruition.
I agree with the need to have the first group primed and ready for Sept. and worry about the 2nd group after they are. That’s not to say you’re not working with everybody along the way. But, the 1st group needs to be the focus.
Yeah I think Patterson returning may have closed the window for Correll at center. Heistand is a fine coach, but unless he can find a way to make Zeke bigger and/or stronger, that’s really his only option here. I’d be surprised if he’s still on the roster a year from now.
Could be. I think Correll would be fine as a center, but we’ve seen it’s not going to work as a guard. Like Andy Dufresne said, if he’s come this far, maybe he’s willing to come a little further. He hasn’t and didn’t jump in the portal upon news of Patterson’s return.
I believe Correll has eligibility thru 2024 due to COVID, maybe he sees himself as a 2-yr ND starter beginning in ’23. I def wouldn’t be shocked if he left soon (does he graduate in May, maybe?) but if he stays on the team for the 2022 season, I would think he’s staying for a while with the mind to start in ’23.
I think we overlook the possibility of Baker or Carmody seeing the field at G.
They will put the best 5 out there. I doubt Lugg came back to medically redshirt, unless he is actually pursuing his grad degree, but I would be disappointed if some combination of Kristofic/Spindler/Carmody/Baker are not the starting Gs by the open of the season.
On Lugg, I think the best you can say is he got the most out of his talent. He has never been outstanding, a good sixth man, but it at ND it means you have a hole if he is a starter.
I could see Carmody making a move at guard in a long shot kind of way. I have a hard time seeing Baker because of his height and struggles overall. But, you never know!
Out of 124 FBS teams, how many would project all 5 of ND’s second team to start over the guys they have on campus now for September? o/u 99.5?
I’m very excited to have this group of talent developed by Hiestand.
Are there only 124 FBS teams these days?
I guess that number is a few years old, the Sun Belt keeps pumping the number up by raiding the FCS. I’ll reset the counter I store with other useless knowledge to 131, which includes James Madison starting next year.
I thought it was pushing towards 140, but a couple teams have dropped out of FBS recently, like Idaho?
Idaho is the only one to drop recently, so we’re at 131 for 2022 bringing on James Madison, and then 133 in 2023 adding Jacksonville and Sam Houston States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_programs
Hiestand always put together good run blocking lines, so I have no concerns about that. But I hope he understands that in today’s game, you have to keep the QB upright to win. Some of his lines gave up a surprising number of pressures for having so much talent available. Buchner’s legs will buy him time to throw, but if there isn’t a clean pocket more often than not, I do worry about his development as a passer. I hope priority #1 is building off of the pass blocking foundation they seemed to be laying toward the second half of last season.