joe rudolph may have his best 5-man combo on the offensive line
Joe Rudolph has done an amazing job recruiting size, length and talent to the Notre Dame offensive line room. His efforts may lead to the Joe Moore Award returning to South Bend next winter, if things go as planned. Entering spring practice, the first unit has been freshman left tackle Will Black, junior left guard Anthoine Knapp, junior center Joe Otting, junior right guard Sullivan Absher and Sophomore right tackle Guerby Lambert. Senior center Ashton Craig is expected to make a full recovery from the leg injury that ended his 2025 season prematurely, and junior guard Charles Jagusah is still dealing with complications from surgery to remedy his injured left arm due to a ATV accident last summer. Despite missing two highly talented linemen this spring, the early returns from coaches and players signal great things ahead for the group.
Rudolph spoke to the media on Wednesday and began with sharing how pleased he’s been with the right side of the first unit, which features Guerby Lambert being moved from right guard to right tackle, and Sullivan Absher replacing him at the right guard spot.
“Those two guys really kind of called each other out about guys that they are confident in, guys that they really look to for leadership, guys that they really trust. and that's always a unique situation when you can kind of create that or build that into your five-line. And then it would have been easy to leave Knapp outside and Guerby inside. What was just the basis of moving them around, too? Guerby has a real comfort on the right side of the line, which is cool.”
Knapp has always been a devastating run blocker and will serve as a more than comparable replacement for former left guard standout Billy Schrauth, who is preparing to be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft. Freshman Will Black came to South Bend with a lot of buzz as a 5-Star in the 2025 class, and head coach Marcus Freeman said there some early growing pains that he had to endure and overcome to begin reaching his full potential. He’s a natural tackle with great length and athleticism that should benefit from being next to a veteran like Knapp, who was ranked as top returning offensive tackle in college football before being moved inside,
With all of the movement this spring, Rudolph has been impressed with the performance of the Black-Knapp combo on the left side and the performance of the line as a whole.
“Knapper, we felt, has done a great job playing left. But we thought to get each guy in maybe the spot that would allow them to shine the most would be the chance to move Knapp in and create a good competition at the left, which Will's done a great job of, but there's still good competition there. And really what you don't know is how the guys will embrace it. And there's a lot of differences, right? It's like, I've been really good here, and now you want me to move here. And Anthony's just embraced it, and he wants to know the intricacies of the position and the differences. And that's really kind of created it. And then what you can't anticipate is how well they work together, the pre-snap communication, how they work in the meeting room, how they talk, their plan, their trust for one another. So I've been impressed by it.”
Another bright spot this spring has been the performance of freshman guard Matty Augustine, who can play both guard and tackle for coach Rudolph. The Irish have 4-5 experienced linemen that have the flexibility to play multiple positions and that should allow a group that has suffered from injuries over the last three seasons to maintain a dominant level of play throughout the 2026 season.
cj carr ranked as top returning qb in college football
Fighting Irish starting quarterback, CJ Carr, is the betting favorite to win the Heisman trophy according to FanDuel, and was recently picked by ESPN analyst Bill Connelly as the top ranked returning quarterback in the country.
The ESPN ranking is based on "stats, trends and recent performances." That equation led to Connelly placing Carr as the nation's top quarterback, ahead of Ohio State sophomore Julian Sayin. Carr will be Marcus Freeman’s first returning starter at the position and the success of the Fighting Irish rest on what many expect to be an impressive season.
Connelly’s Take:
"He sort of looked like a redshirt freshman against Miami in Week 1 of last season, but that was about it. He fell just short of leading a comeback win against the Hurricanes, then pretty much torched all other opposition. Sure, he had a spectacular run game at his disposal -- Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combined for 2,046 yards and 29 touchdowns (and are both gone now) -- but Notre Dame ranked first nationally in third-and-long success rate (7 or more yards to go). When Carr had to make a throw, he did so.
"Carr isn't exactly your modern dual-threat guy; he doesn't scramble much, and he's not a threat to punish defenses for turning their backs on the QB in man coverage. But he also doesn't take sacks, both because of quick decision-making and the fact that he might have the best offensive line in the country protecting him. He's accurate, he has a big arm, and by the end of 2025 he was one of the most reliable passers in the sport.
"While three of last year's four main wideouts are gone, the return of Jordan Faison, plus 2024 playoff hero Jaden Greathouse (back from an injury redshirt) will help, as will the addition of two recent blue-chippers from Ohio State (Mylan Graham, Quincy Porter). Carr should have most of what he needs, and even if the run game regresses a bit, there's no reason to think he won't continue to come through on third down." - Connelly
Carr earned second team Freshman All-American honors last season after passing for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns while completing just under 67-percent of his passes. He ranked second in all of college football with a 9.4 yards per attempt average and ranked fifth with a passer rating of 168.06, and his passer rating set a new Notre Dame record, shattering the mark that was previously tied by Jimmy Clausen in 2009. Carr also ranked 4th in the country with a 14.1 per completion average.
Schrauth, Wagner ON Outland Trophy Watch List
Junior offensive linemen Billy Schrauth and Aamil Wagner have been selected to the 2025 Outland Trophy Watch List, which recognizes commitment to community service and leadership off the field.
The two Irish players are part of a group of 50 linemen on the watch list. Notre Dame has had three past winners of the Outland Trophy: OT George Connor (1946), OG Bill Fischer (1948) and DE Ross Browner (1976). THe Irish have had four additional finalists: Aaron Taylor (1993), Quenton Nelson (2017), Liam Eichenberg (2020) and Joe Alt (2023) according to the Notre Dame Athletic Department.
The Outland Trophy, which recognizes standout interior linemen, is celebrating its 80th season and this year's preseason list includes 16 offensive tackles, 15 guards, nine centers and 10 defensive tackles. It’s an impressive list of the best lineman in college football, and quite the honor to be included for the two Notre Dame stars.
ND's offensive line is expected to be one of the best units in the country after a bit of an inconsistent 2024 campaign due to injury and the need to play freshman at important positions along the line. The Fighting Irish are poised to make another deep run in the College Football Playoff and that could transition both players into finalists for the award. If Schrauth and Wagner play up to the Outland standard, they’ll both be in the mix to win the award.
Shaun M. Davis
teammates Joey o’brien and grayson mckeough took different paths to nd
The roller coaster recruitment for 6-4 195-pound five-star defensive back Joey O’Brien of Glenside (Pa.) LaSalle College Prep reached a conclusion when he picked Notre Dame on June 20th over finalists Oregon, Penn State, and Clemson. At one point, all four programs were perceived as possible leaders for O’Brien. His teammate, 6-7 285-pound pass blocker Grayson McKeough, who chose the Fighting Irish over Penn State, had a totally different path to his commitment to Notre Dame and their head coach,Brett Gordon, witnessed both journeys as a confidant and advisor.
“All four schools did a great job recruiting Joey,” Gordon said. “The coaches did a great job of showing him how they would develop and use him. Joey really liked all the schools, coaches and players, but it came down to what school felt like home for him.”
Originally, the Pennsylvania Player of the Year was scheduled to take his official visit to South Bend on June 20th but decided to switch to the weekend of June 13th, which happened to be the same as his teammate four-star offensive lineman Grayson McKeough, who also eventually committed to the Fighting Irish. At the same time, he announced that his decision would now take place on June 20th , leaving the fanbases of the finalists pondering about where their teams stood in the recruitment.
“I don’t think he was leaning anywhere going into the Notre Dame visit,” Gordon said. “I told him that he was being recruited by the blue bloods with tradition, and great coaching. So, whatever school felt like the place he wanted to spend the next four years of his life would be the determining factor.
“The date change was to help make things easier,” Gordon continued. He wanted to take all five official visits, but I thought that was too much. Joey and his family were thorough in the five unofficials, and taking five officials was too much, so the Tennessee one was dropped and that’s why the Notre Dame visit was moved.”
The Fighting Irish seemed to take over in his recruitment as his June 13th official visit approached. His teammate, 5-star defensive back Joey O’Brien would be visiting on the same weekend after a late change to his schedule. Although they would travel different paths to South Bend on that weekend, they would leave with similar feelings about the visit that led both to commit to the program on June 18th and June 20th respectively.
“Grayson’s path was different from Joey’s,” Gordon explained. “Two different scenarios. Everyone was in the mix with Joey going into the official visits. Grayson was probably leaning Notre Dame going into the visit. The visit helped him make his decision. Joey had already set his decision date for June 20th, two weeks before the visit. Grayson didn’t have a set date, but he was ready to make his decision once he got back.
“It was a great visit,” Gordon continued. “Being around the other recruits and current players was big for him. He spoke about brotherhood and how comfortable he felt. Him and Joey kept using the word “family” when they talked about the visit.”
Landing the talented teammates shows great cohesiveness in the Notre Dame recruiting operation right now, and the success of the June 13th recruiting weekend could lead to more additions to an already impressive top 5 class.
Shaun M. Davis