The Notre Dame offensive linemen flying under the radar entering 2022 season

The household names are firmly established. Bookend tackles Blake Fisher and Joe Alt, both sophomores. Fifth-year senior center Jarrett Patterson. Sixth-year senior Josh Lugg switching from tackle to guard to retain a starting position. Four of the five Notre Dame offensive line positions seem all but set in stone.

But what about the rest of the position group? There is plenty of intrigue there. That might be an understatement.

Let’s start with the two freshest faces — early enrollee freshmen Billy Schrauth and Joey Tanona. Those faces stayed fresh during a month of spring practices because of injuries. Schrauth is still rehabbing from foot surgery. Tanona was concussed in a car accident early in the spring and never returned to the field. When both are back, they’re going to immediately factor into the discussion.

Schrauth (6-4, 272) has a little more weight to gain than Tanona (6-5, 284), but it won’t take long to get them where they need to be with strength and conditioning coach Matt Balis dangling the carrot out in front of them. Or a hot dog, donut, etc. if Balis really wants them to get bigger. The talent level of the two isn’t quite on par with that of Alt and Fisher when they were first-year players, but there is certainly a case to be made that they’re the future of the interior of the Notre Dame offensive line.

Sophomore Rocco Spindler secured some starter’s reps at left guard toward the end of the spring slate, so it’s not really fair to say he’s flying under the radar. He wasn’t really ever doing so anyway. He hardly played last season, but fans still couldn’t stop talking about him. If Schrauth and Tanona are going to compete for playing time early in their college careers, they’re going to have to go through Spindler. It feels like he’s on the verge of starting, and that could occur as soon as this fall.

But not so fast. Spindler’s emergence has put a junior actually under the radar.

Andrew Kristofic might not deserve as much credit as Alt for saving the Notre Dame offensive line in the second half of the 2021 season, but he should sure garner a lot of it. He played well at left guard. Well enough to be considered an incumbent in 2022. But there’s Spindler trying to take his job. Healthy competition is great. And it’s exciting to see young players like Spindler getting a shot. But just don’t forget about Kristofic. He’s got plenty more to give this program, and there is no way he wants to relinquish the spot he earned along the line.

After those four, there is a long list of players who have played before but don’t seem to be making offseason moves to get back into the rotation. If Patterson sticks at center, for instance, and even if he doesn’t, is senior Zeke Correll really one of Notre Dame’s top five offensive linemen? Can he beat out Spindler, Kristofic or Lugg for a guard spot? Junior Tosh Baker isn’t ever going to see the field unless Alt or Fisher get hurt, and even then Lugg could kick back out to tackle and fill the void. Put sophomore Caleb Johnson in the same boat as Baker, though he still has time to show he’s not far away from being a viable option.

Last but not least, don’t forget about summer enrollees Aamil Wagner, Ty Chan and Ashton Craig. Notre Dame went heavy on offensive linemen in the class of 2022. Wagner was one of the top signees overall, checking in as the No. 8 offensive tackle nationally per the On3 Consensus Recruiting Ratings. If offensive line coach Harry Hiestand is going to stay a while in his second stint at Notre Dame, he’s never going to have to worry about bare cupboards. They’re fully stocked at the moment.