A long history of putting offensive linemen into the NFL has obviously gotten the notice of plenty of national pundits. Mike Farrell, the Recruiting Director over at Rivals, has ranked the best group of five offensive linemen in the country and the Irish came out on top of the list.
It’s not just one elite player on the line that Farrell likes its everyone “from Liam Eichenberg to Aaron Banks to Robert Hainsey, the front is loaded with talent and should pave the way for a strong running game and a dangerous offense under Ian Book.” The Irish will depend on the offensive line to pave holes for a very green running backs unit. They will also have to give Book enough time to find his also green wide receivers.
It is a very good luxury to have all five returning starters, with the aforementioned three along with Tommy Kraemer and Jarrett Patterson, to help ease the offense this coming season. Having a line that has been through the trials of a season together will surely help as Book finds go to targets and who will be the lead running back. You can add in Josh Lugg into the mix as well in case an injury occurs. Winning the battle on the trenches is often a good sign for great teams, and if the Irish offensive line plays up to expectations, you can expect very good results.