Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame at Ohio State only 74 days away
To preview one of the most anticipated games for Notre Dame this century and the official start of the Marcus Freeman era, BlueandGold.com is counting down the days to the matchup against Ohio State on Sept. 3.
This daily series of 99 stories celebrates by the numbers some of the most notable names, dates, moments and memories related to the past and present of Notre Dame football.
Today, we look at No. 74 by remembering Liam Eichenberg‘s career. The offensive tackle wore the number for the blue and gold from 2016-20.
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When a top-10 offensive tackle ends up at a top-10 program, the results are often going to be good.
Eichenberg, who was the No. 7 offensive tackle in the 2016 class per On3 Consensus, made the pledge to the Irish on April 19, 2015 and spent five years as the anchor of one of the nation’s best offensive lines.
After redshirting during his 2016 season, the 6-6, 310-pound tackle saw the field in five games in 2017. From 2018-20, Eichenberg started at left tackle for the Irish in every contest, including two runs to the College Football Playoff in 2018 and 2020.
Individually, Eichenberg was a near-unmovable wall in his final two years at Notre Dame. He allowed just three sacks over 1,480 pass-blocking snaps during that span per Pro Football Focus. All three of them came in 2018, his junior year. During his senior and graduate years, Eichenberg played 951 total pass-blocking snaps and allowed zero sacks.
As a result of his elite showing in 2020, the offensive tackle earned a number of awards, including first-team honors from Sporting News, CBS Sports, Walter Camp and the AFCA, among others. He was an Associated Press second teamer. Eichenberg was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award and Outland Trophy as well.
The Cleveland native was taken with the No. 42 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He has already worked his way into Miami’s starting lineup — Eichenberg started 16 of Miami’s 17 games last year — and made a positive impact during his rookie season. He will look to improve this year under new Dolphins offensive line coach Matt Applebaum, who arrived in Miami after an impressive tenure coaching the offensive line at Boston College.
