Expectations were high for the 2025 offensive line. Outside of the running back room, no other position had such high hopes on the offensive side of the ball. And that was with the transfers out of veterans Rocco Spindler (Nebraska), Pat Coogan (Indiana), and Sam Pendleton (Tennessee). There was a brief “what is going on with all these transfers!” panic many months ago but that settled down quickly. At least for his part, Coogan made an excellent choice ending up a National Champion with the Hoosiers.
So, did this 2025 offensive line actually live up to the hype?
UTV in the News
A recap of the season wouldn’t be complete without the UTV accident that saw Charles Jagusah break his arm and miss the whole 2025 campaign. During the spring, he was working at right guard and if things had worked out might’ve been the future at the position. Instead, his injury threw the line into a little bit of chaos.
Don’t forget, both Billy Schrauth and Anthonie Knapp had clean up procedures on injuries and didn’t participate during the spring while Joe Otting was recovering from a knee tear. There wasn’t a ton of worry that things would eventually come together, although this was less than ideal preparation. In a way, the off-season injuries probably helped to build the roster depth that we see today but you also wonder how things could’ve played out differently (especially in Miami) if the offensive line had a healthier lead up into 2025.
The Lineup
Who doesn’t like a good conversation about moving offensive linemen around and switching positions? It is a rite of passage for any real fan. Start mumbling changes to the lineup to yourself and you’ve arrived as a ball knower. If there was an off-season to make some moves 2025 seemed like it had some potential.
However, consistency prevailed with Knapp remaining at left tackle, Schrauth staying at left guard, Ashton Craig coming back to reclaim his center job, and Aamil Wagner returning to the right edge.
Knapp: Forever left tackle?
After getting some spring work at tackle, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph put Guerby Lambert in at the right guard position. This is the starting lineup that Notre Dame worked with for the first half of the season.
Snaps
Notre Dame was very close to getting snaps for every single offensive linemen in 2025. They got one snap in for true freshman Owen Strebig and the only other lineman not to see the field at all with the offense was redshirt freshman Peter Jones who was dealing with an ankle injury all season.
Numerous blowouts certainly allowed Rudolph to get some run for the backups.
| PLAYER | SNAPS |
|---|---|
| Aamil Wagner | 696 |
| Anthonie Knapp | 688 |
| Guerby Lambert | 684 |
| Billy Schrauth | 436 |
| Joe Otting | 380 |
| Ashton Craig | 352 |
| Sullivan Absher | 327 |
| Styles Prescod | 89 |
| Chris Terek | 80 |
| Matty Augustine | 55 |
| Cam Herron | 38 |
| Devan Houstan | 36 |
| Will Black | 27 |
| Owen Strebig | 1 |
Injuries also played a part, as well.
For the second straight season, Craig hurt his knee and didn’t finish the season. This time, he went down against NC State and missed the remaining 6 games. Schrauth sprained his MCL against USC and without playoffs never made it back to the lineup missing the final 5 games. Otting (center) and Absher (left guard) would end up filling in admirably after those injuries.
Grade: B+
Given our grades for quarterback and running back so far in this off-season review, it would be difficult to drop the offensive line much lower than those units. Still, so much of the season hinged on coming into the Miami game with a well oiled machine up front and that did not happen. The Hurricanes really took it to the Irish with star defensive end Reuben Bain garnering a ridiculous 93.5 grade from PFF, among other celebrations Miami had up front that night.
The short yardage woes (officially successful on 12 of 27 snaps on 3rd and short with a handful of failed 4th down attempts too) are duly noted, as well. I chalk that up partly to poor blocking, but also weird play-calling and a big transition away from an extremely mobile quarterback.
Zooming out, the season as a whole went really well for the offensive line. Particularly in helping to develop a young quarterback like CJ Carr, while also driving some of the best running game highlights in Irish history. With a trickier second half schedule, the injuries might have been a much bigger deal although we have to give credit to Rudolph who continues to do an excellent job getting backups ready to fill larger roles when needed.
