Tag: Jarrett Patterson

Is the Notre Dame Offensive Line the best group in the country?

Five returning starters give the Irish a very formidable group, but just how good are they when compared to other top groups?

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.

Lindy’s Names Notre Dame’s Offensive Line Best in Country

As college football presumably creeps closer to a new season, it’s time for the outside experts to rank everything possible.

As college football presumably creeps closer to a new season, it’s time for the outside experts to rank everything possible. That includes the best units at every position. In the opinion of at least one publication, Notre Dame is the best in one area.

In its annual preview issue, Lindy’s has ranked Notre Dame as having the best offensive line. Bryan Driskell of Irish Illustrated has highlighted the paragraph indicating this honor. The paragraph mentions the five returning starters for the Irish’s unit, four of which are pro prospects: Robert Hainsey, Liam Eichenberg, Tommy Kraemer, Aaron Banks and Jarrett Patterson. Special mention is given to backup Josh Lugg.

Eichenberg already has been named a preseason second team All-American. With him and a few others ranked among the best in the country at their respective positions, it won’t be shocking if a few more media outlets follow suit in high praise for the O-line. Regardless, if this unit is as good as advertised, Ian Book’s going to have an easy final season in South Bend.

247Sports: A Super Team would Consist of an Notre Dame Positional Group

An Irish positional group is included as part of a super-team of units across the country.

This should not come as much of a surprise to anyone, especially from the school that hold’s the mantle of Offensive Line U, that Notre Dame’s group of 5 road graders would be named among the best in the nation. As 247Sports continues their preview of the upcoming season, Chris Hummer chose the Irish offensive line as his group when building a super team.

The talented group of linemen all return boasted by some impressive stats they as a group accumulated last season. Pro Football Focus was very high on “all five Irish starters return off a unit that ranked 13th nationally, per PFF College. Notre Dame was particularly good as a pass-blocking group, ranking second nationally in PFF’s grading system.” Those numbers equal a very formidable group heading into this season.

Of the five returning starting offensive linemen just one, guard Tommy Kraemer, didn’t make PFF’s top 30 returning offensive linemen. The rest of the group, tackles Liam Eichenberg and Robert Hainsey, guard Aaron Banks and center Jarrett Patterson combine to make the best group in the country.

There was some negative about the group however, as they we not particularly great as a run-blocking unit. Hummer noted that “Notre Dame finished a respectable 28th nationally in yard per carry last season. But that’s a little misleading. The o-line finished just 62nd nationally in line yards per carry – a Football Outsiders stats that gives the line credit on a percentage basis depending on the length of the run – indicating much of the Irish’s rushing success was due to running backs creating chunk runs instead of the line consistently creating holes.” If that is the one issues with the unit, then the Irish are in great shape. Run-blocking can be seen as a mentality, one that former Irish star Quenton Nelson has plenty of. If this current line can get that nasty streak going, there is no doubt in my mind they can fix their perceived run-blocking issues and be the best group in the country.

California Dreaming, Notre Dame Recruits well in Sunshine State

The Irish have traditionally recruited California well and expect that to continue.

Yesterday, it was the minimal presence that the Irish in their neighboring state Ohio, but today Rivals took a look at who recruits California the best. It should not come as a surprise that Notre Dame made the list, the Irish have traditionally recruited the state well.

The Irish have secured a commitment from Tyler Buchner in the 2021 recruiting cycle, he is the top rated quarterback and second overall prospect in California. Last year it was CB Ramon Henderson and in the 2019 class it was CB Isaiah Rutherford and DE Isaiah Foskey. It was CB TaRiq Bracy, OT Jarrett Patterson and LB Jack Lamb who signed with the Irish in 2018.

It is safe to say the state of California has been kind to the Irish, and Brian Kelly keeps dipping into the Sunshine State for talent every year. There is potential for more Californian’s to sign with the Irish this year as RB Prophet Brown and DB Dyson McCutcheon both have Notre Dame in their top few schools.

Of the offers out to the 2022 class, only Texas with 10 has more than California’s 5 right now, so expect Kelly to continue to look for talent out west. Making the state a priority is a good thing, as it’s a hotbed for Division I talent. The California to South Bend pipeline should continue to be strong in the future.

Notre Dame’s Playmaker? A Group of Five

It isn’t just one Irish player that is considered a playmaker by CBS Sports, it’s a group.

It seems as if every day the hope for a season gets larger and larger. With than many people are getting excited about what could be and it was CBS Sports Barrett Sallee that looked ahead to which players are the best playmakers at their positions.

It wasn’t just one Notre Dame player to make Sallee list, it was the offensive line as a unit. Although the big men up front aren’t normally seen as playermakers “they’re play facilitators. With that said, let’s give this award to a Notre Dame unit that is loaded with returning talent.” That loaded talent is led by Liam Eichenberg who is seen as a potential first round draft pick.

What was interesting is that Sallee mentioned the goal for every top program in the nation, getting into the Playoff’s. He believes that “if they’re (Notre Dame) going to get back to the College Football Playoff, it’ll be up to the big guys up front to get the job done.” Sallee isn’t wrong, as the Irish do return senior QB Ian Book but have to replace every skill position starter from last year. Leaning on the veteran line early should help Book find his go-to guys this coming season.

The health of the line shouldn’t be understated, as tackle Robert Hainsey and guards Tommy Kraemer and Aaron Banks each suffered an injury at some point in the last year. Keeping the group injury-free will be a key for the Notre Dame offense. If the quintet is healthy, expect phenomenal play from Jeff Quinn’s group and the possibility of getting back to the playoffs for the second time in the Brian Kelly era.

It seems as if every day the hope for a season gets larger and larger. With than many people are getting excited about what could be and it was CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee that looked ahead to which players are the best playmakers at their positions.

It wasn’t just one Notre Dame player to make Sallee list, it was the offensive line as a unit. Although the big men up front aren’t normally seen as playermakers “they’re play facilitators. With that said, let’s give this award to a Notre Dame unit that is loaded with returning talent.” That loaded talent is led by Liam Eichenberg who is seen as a potential first round draft pick.

What was interesting is that Sallee mentioned the goal for every top program in the nation, getting into the Playoff’s. He believes that “if they’re (Notre Dame) going to get back to the College Football Playoff, it’ll be up to the big guys up front to get the job done.” Sallee isn’t wrong, as the Irish do return senior QB Ian Book but have to replace every skill position starter from last year. Leaning on the veteran line early should help Book find his go-to guys this coming season.

The health of the line shouldn’t be understated, as tackle Robert Hainsey and guards Tommy Kraemer and Aaron Banks each suffered an injury at some point in the last year. Keeping the group injury-free will be a key for the Notre Dame offense. There’s a reason Notre Dame got the moniker of O-Line U, groups like this. If the quintet is healthy, expect phenomenal play from Jeff Quinn’s group and the possibility of getting back to the playoffs for the second time in the Brian Kelly era.

Notre Dame’s 2020 O-Line Loaded with Talent in PFF’s Eyes

did anyone else catch a theme that seemed to fit perfectly into the 2019 Notre Dame offense?

When the 2020 college football season arrives Notre Dame will enter it with one of the most-experienced offensive lines in the entire country.

Common sense tells you about the experience but according to Pro Football Focus, the amount of talent should be near an elite level as well.  Let’s examine what they had to say Monday when they ranked the“30 Best Returning Offensive Linemen” and why I’m still a bit skeptical of the unit overall.

Here’s what they had to say as they ranked four Notre Dame linemen in their top 30, more than any other school.  For comparison only Kentucky even had three while Air Force and BYU both had a pair of representitives.

Here’s who PFF ranked from Notre Dame in their top 30 and what they had to say about each – read it and then see if you can guess why I’m still a bit concerned:

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