- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 446,847
- Reaction score
- 44
In contrast to a season ago, Notre Dame returns a lot of experience at the offensive line position. Their size, strength and athleticism positions them to be one of the best units in the country this upcoming season. With a new and inexperienced starting quarterback under center this fall, this group will have to perform at a higher level than in previous years to have another successful season.
This fall, the Irish return five offensive lineman who all have starting experience. Leading the charge is right tackle Aamil Wagner who started all 16 games in 2024. Wagner played a team leading 973 snaps last season and only allowed two sacks over the course of the season. Rising sophomore Anthonie Knapp is right behind him with 15 starts under his belt. Knapp stepped into the lineup last fall camp when presumed starter Charles Jagusah went down with an injury holding him out the entirety of the regular season.
Knapp stepped in at left tackle and started every game up until the National Championship game due to an injury sustained in the first half of the Penn State game. Left guard Billy Schrauth started 12 games last season due to missing four games in the middle of the year with an ankle injury. He returned against Navy and started the remainder of the season at left guard after beginning the season at right guard.
Center Ashton Craig went down with an injury in the third week of the season. He started three games in 2023 and three games in 2024. He has been cleared this summer to return as a full participant. Jagusah returns as the most inexperienced starter on this unit, however, he might have the highest ceiling of the bunch. He returned from injury against Penn State where he entered the game at right guard. Jagusah then started at left tackle in the national title game in place of Knapp.
As a group, these five offensive lineman only allowed eight sacks in a 16 game season. However, due to injury, we have yet to see this group of five on the field at the same time. This year they will have to play cohesively and improve in consistent pass protection.
Due to injury and load management, we didn't get to see a lot of the starters over the course of spring practice. Knapp and Schrauth were kept out of team drills until the week of the Blue Gold game. Craig still wasn't cleared to return from his ACL tear and Wagner was held to a pitch count. Jagusah was the only player we saw consistently in the first team lineup week in and week out.
This paved the way for a lot of the inexperienced talent in the room to grow and develop this spring with meaningful reps. Rising junior Sullivan Absher has played all over the offensive line so far during his time in South Bend. This spring, he worked out at both guard positions as well as center. At 6-7 318 pounds, Absher can be a valuable asset to this unit over the course of the season.
Unfortunately, the injuries didn't end with the conclusion of last season. Talented rising sophomore Guerby Lambert was injured halfway through spring practice and was ruled out until the end of summer/early fall camp. Lambert was taking reps at both left and right tackle. He has an extremely high ceiling and could have pushed for a starting position if it weren't for the injury.
Rising junior Joe Otting took the bulk of reps at center with the first team. Otting had a solid spring and positioned himself as a competitor to Craig who returns this summer to retain his spot on the starting offensive line. Former defensive lineman Devan Houston made the switch from offense to defense and performed well in the jersey scrimmage and the spring game. Early enrollees Owen Strebig, Cam Herron and Matty Augustine all gained valuable experience with this unit over the course of the spring as well.
Three of the four offensive lineman in Notre Dame's 2025 recruiting class were early enrollees. The fourth, who was not on campus throughout the spring has the most potential to play this upcoming season, and that's incoming freshman Will Black. The 6-7 292 pound Ontario native was graded a five-star offensive tackle by On3, Rivals and Irish Breakdown as well as a four-star recruit by 247Sports and ESPN. Black significantly improved from a junior in high school to a senior in high school proving him to be a dominant force at tackle.
He's an extremely athletic player who projects as an elite offensive tackle once he gets his feet under him at the collegiate level. Black plays with great leverage, has extremely long arms and is very quick out of his stance. He has the potential to be Notre Dame's best pure tackle prospect in the room in the near future.
Even though this room returns significantly more experience than last season, this unit still has a ways to go before they're Joe Moore Award finalist. Improvements will have to be made this season to get the Irish back to the National Championship stage. Here are a few things we will be looking for from the offensive line room from now until the end of fall camp.
1. Improved Pass Protection - Even though the returning players with starting experience only allowed eight sacks, this is the biggest area of improvement for this group. They won't have an athlete under center this upcoming fall quite as mobile or elusive in the pocket as Riley Leonard. Knapp, Schrauth, Craig, Jagusah and Wagner combined for 72 pressures allowed with Knapp allowing a team leading 31 pressures. Wagner was not far behind with 29 pressures allowed.
They struggled handling various stunts and line games the past two seasons. This is a key area offensive line coach Joe Rudolph will have to improve on throughout the rest of the off season, especially with a younger and inexperienced quarterback under center this fall.
2. Remain Healthy - This is becoming a common theme for this football team, but it's a testament to how many injuries this program had to battle through last fall. A season ago, this team had players at every position along the offensive line, except right tackle, miss significant time over the course of the season. Continuity is a huge component to a successful offensive line, and that's difficult to achieve when you have a new starting lineup every month. This past spring, this unit didn't get many reps together on the first team. With Craig's return this summer, they should be able to build a strong foundation heading into the season.
3. Stay Consistent In Run Blocking - Run blocking was the strength of this unit last season. This year, they have a much more athletic and experienced offensive line compared to last. At times, this unit was very dominant in the run game, but sometimes assignments were missed resulting in negative plays. Notre Dame returns the best backfield in the country, and that will continue to be a staple of this offense moving forward. They will have to build on the success of the run game from a season ago.
Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge
Irish Breakdown Content
2025 Depth Chart
2025 Football Schedule
Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers
2025 Commit Rankings - Offense
2025 Commit Rankings - Defense
2024 Recruiting Class
2023 Recruiting Class
2022 Recruiting Class
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
BECOME A MEMBER
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter
Continue reading...
2025 OL Roster
You must be registered for see images attach
This fall, the Irish return five offensive lineman who all have starting experience. Leading the charge is right tackle Aamil Wagner who started all 16 games in 2024. Wagner played a team leading 973 snaps last season and only allowed two sacks over the course of the season. Rising sophomore Anthonie Knapp is right behind him with 15 starts under his belt. Knapp stepped into the lineup last fall camp when presumed starter Charles Jagusah went down with an injury holding him out the entirety of the regular season.
Knapp stepped in at left tackle and started every game up until the National Championship game due to an injury sustained in the first half of the Penn State game. Left guard Billy Schrauth started 12 games last season due to missing four games in the middle of the year with an ankle injury. He returned against Navy and started the remainder of the season at left guard after beginning the season at right guard.
Center Ashton Craig went down with an injury in the third week of the season. He started three games in 2023 and three games in 2024. He has been cleared this summer to return as a full participant. Jagusah returns as the most inexperienced starter on this unit, however, he might have the highest ceiling of the bunch. He returned from injury against Penn State where he entered the game at right guard. Jagusah then started at left tackle in the national title game in place of Knapp.
As a group, these five offensive lineman only allowed eight sacks in a 16 game season. However, due to injury, we have yet to see this group of five on the field at the same time. This year they will have to play cohesively and improve in consistent pass protection.
Post Spring Analysis
Due to injury and load management, we didn't get to see a lot of the starters over the course of spring practice. Knapp and Schrauth were kept out of team drills until the week of the Blue Gold game. Craig still wasn't cleared to return from his ACL tear and Wagner was held to a pitch count. Jagusah was the only player we saw consistently in the first team lineup week in and week out.
This paved the way for a lot of the inexperienced talent in the room to grow and develop this spring with meaningful reps. Rising junior Sullivan Absher has played all over the offensive line so far during his time in South Bend. This spring, he worked out at both guard positions as well as center. At 6-7 318 pounds, Absher can be a valuable asset to this unit over the course of the season.
Unfortunately, the injuries didn't end with the conclusion of last season. Talented rising sophomore Guerby Lambert was injured halfway through spring practice and was ruled out until the end of summer/early fall camp. Lambert was taking reps at both left and right tackle. He has an extremely high ceiling and could have pushed for a starting position if it weren't for the injury.
Rising junior Joe Otting took the bulk of reps at center with the first team. Otting had a solid spring and positioned himself as a competitor to Craig who returns this summer to retain his spot on the starting offensive line. Former defensive lineman Devan Houston made the switch from offense to defense and performed well in the jersey scrimmage and the spring game. Early enrollees Owen Strebig, Cam Herron and Matty Augustine all gained valuable experience with this unit over the course of the spring as well.
Summer Arrivals
Three of the four offensive lineman in Notre Dame's 2025 recruiting class were early enrollees. The fourth, who was not on campus throughout the spring has the most potential to play this upcoming season, and that's incoming freshman Will Black. The 6-7 292 pound Ontario native was graded a five-star offensive tackle by On3, Rivals and Irish Breakdown as well as a four-star recruit by 247Sports and ESPN. Black significantly improved from a junior in high school to a senior in high school proving him to be a dominant force at tackle.
He's an extremely athletic player who projects as an elite offensive tackle once he gets his feet under him at the collegiate level. Black plays with great leverage, has extremely long arms and is very quick out of his stance. He has the potential to be Notre Dame's best pure tackle prospect in the room in the near future.
Moving Forward
Even though this room returns significantly more experience than last season, this unit still has a ways to go before they're Joe Moore Award finalist. Improvements will have to be made this season to get the Irish back to the National Championship stage. Here are a few things we will be looking for from the offensive line room from now until the end of fall camp.
1. Improved Pass Protection - Even though the returning players with starting experience only allowed eight sacks, this is the biggest area of improvement for this group. They won't have an athlete under center this upcoming fall quite as mobile or elusive in the pocket as Riley Leonard. Knapp, Schrauth, Craig, Jagusah and Wagner combined for 72 pressures allowed with Knapp allowing a team leading 31 pressures. Wagner was not far behind with 29 pressures allowed.
They struggled handling various stunts and line games the past two seasons. This is a key area offensive line coach Joe Rudolph will have to improve on throughout the rest of the off season, especially with a younger and inexperienced quarterback under center this fall.
2. Remain Healthy - This is becoming a common theme for this football team, but it's a testament to how many injuries this program had to battle through last fall. A season ago, this team had players at every position along the offensive line, except right tackle, miss significant time over the course of the season. Continuity is a huge component to a successful offensive line, and that's difficult to achieve when you have a new starting lineup every month. This past spring, this unit didn't get many reps together on the first team. With Craig's return this summer, they should be able to build a strong foundation heading into the season.
3. Stay Consistent In Run Blocking - Run blocking was the strength of this unit last season. This year, they have a much more athletic and experienced offensive line compared to last. At times, this unit was very dominant in the run game, but sometimes assignments were missed resulting in negative plays. Notre Dame returns the best backfield in the country, and that will continue to be a staple of this offense moving forward. They will have to build on the success of the run game from a season ago.
Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge
Irish Breakdown Content
2025 Depth Chart
2025 Football Schedule
Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers
2025 Commit Rankings - Offense
2025 Commit Rankings - Defense
2024 Recruiting Class
2023 Recruiting Class
2022 Recruiting Class
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
BECOME A MEMBER
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter
Continue reading...
