Tag: Joe Rudolph

FIW Exclusive: Interview with 2026 Notre Dame commit Sullivan Garvin

We got the inside scoop on the Irish’s latest commit.

Notre Dame now has five commits in its 2026 recruiting class. The newest is three-star interior offensive lineman [autotag]Sullivan Garvin[/autotag] from Allegan, Michigan, which is little more than an hour and a half’s drive from South Bend. Garvin made his announcement one day after National Signing Day for the 2025 class.

Although Garvin received offers from other programs after the Irish presented him with theirs Sept. 28, there was no doubt in his mind about where he wanted to go. So [autotag]Joe Rudolph[/autotag] has his first commit in this particular recruiting class.

Being the Irish’s latest commit, Garvin made the interview rounds in the hours after announcing his decision. Fighting Irish Wire was lucky to be one of the outlets to be granted an interview with him. This was made possible after communication with Tracy Garvin, his mother who took notice of us on social media when we reported on his offer from the Irish.

Here’s what Garvin had to tell us:

Our thanks to the Garvins for their time and effort with this, and we hope the younger Garvin has a fruitful career with the Irish.

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Crystal ball prediction for Notre Dame 2026 offensive lineman recruit

Gotta love how this is going.

Notre Dame is ready to shore up its offensive line for its 2026 recruiting class. With quarterback [autotag]Noah Grubbs[/autotag] and receiver [autotag]Dylan Faison[/autotag] already having committed, the Irish are ready for someone in that recruiting class to protect those guys.

Enter Sullivan Garvin, a three-star offensive lineman recruit from Allegan, Michigan. The Irish presented him an offer during his visit to campus, which took place on the day of the win over Louisville.

Despite Garvin also having offers from Indiana, Minnesota and several Mid-American Conference programs, [autotag]Joe Rudolph[/autotag] clearly presented a convincing case to him because Tom Loy and Allen Trieu of 247Sports both have made crystal ball predictions for the Irish.

If you need further evidence of the Irish trending in the right direction here, Gavin’s mother posted a video of her son walking out of Notre Dame Stadium indicating that the offer was his. You don’t see these types of videos often, and it’s cool to see:

 

We’ll see how the rest of Garvin’s college visits work out, but this looks very promising.

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Offensive line named biggest liability for Notre Dame in 2024

Do you agree?

Every college football program has a weakness from the best to the worst. That’s why Big Game Boomer, who has published one college football list after another on social media, decided to determine the biggest liability for every Football Bowl Subdivision program and put it all into a list.

When it came time to pick Notre Dame’s biggest liability in 2024, Big Game Boomer opted to go with the offensive line:

At first, one might scoff at the idea of the Irish having weak offensive linemen. Then, you remember that the corps lost [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag] and [autotag]Blake Fisher[/autotag] to the NFL. What’s left is a group consisting of a few upperclassmen but a lot of freshmen and sophomores. Indeed, [autotag]Joe Rudolph[/autotag]’s job has gotten tougher.

Irish fans undoubtedly will be concerned if the offensive skills players can’t do what they’re able to because their blockers failed them. There’s a reason those players always credit those blockers when they’ve had a big game. Without them, they’re nothing.

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Wisconsin top in-state class of 2025 target sets commitment date

Wisconsin top in-state class of 2025 target sets commitment date

Top Wisconsin class of 2025 target Owen Strebig announced earlier today that he will be announcing his college commitment on February 8 at 4 p.m. central.

The Waukesha, Wisconsin native is the No. 1 player in the state of Wisconsin in his class of 2025. He also ranks as the No. 127 overall recruit in the class and No. 13 offensive tackle.

Strebig will be choosing between the in-state Badgers, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame and USC — though there is currently a consensus that Notre Dame will be the choice.

If Wisconsin were to lose Strebig, he would become the ninth of the last 10 in-state four-star recruits to commit elsewhere — the one commitment coming from top 2022 offensive tackle Joe Brunner. This trend is occurring after Wisconsin previously held a stronghold on top in-state prospects for the last few decades.

It also must be noted that Notre Dame’s current offensive line coach is Joe Rudolph — Wisconsin’s old offensive line coach and offensive coordinator from 2015-2021. It is easy to infer a previous connection there between Rudolph and in-state recruits from his time in Madison.

The Badgers class of 2025 now awaits Strebig’s announcement. The group currently ranks No. 10 nationally with seven commitments at this early point in the process.

Notre Dame football: 2023 coaching staff tracker

More movement on June 20…

Although it was anticipated to be a much slower off-season in terms of news for Notre Dame after Marcus Freeman’s first full year on the job, plenty of changes to the coaching staff have occurred.  It started with a famed graduate assistant returning to the Big Ten university he starred at as a player and quickly snowballed into a national search for a new offensive coordinator and much more.

As we count down the days until Notre Dame football officially gets going this fall, we look back at the departures and arrivals to Notre Dame’s coaching staff.

 

Watch: Notre Dame line coaches mic’d up during spring practices

Get an inside scoop for two units’ workouts.

The battles in the trenches can be the most grinding of any on a football field. That’s why offensive and defensive lines require the best coaching possible in order for them to perform at their very best. If you don’t believe that, look what happens when the coaches responsible for those areas with the Irish wear mics during spring workouts.

First, let’s listen to second-year defensive line coach [autotag]Al Washington[/autotag]:

Now, let’s hear first-year offensive line coach [autotag]Joe Rudolph[/autotag], who is by no means a rookie college coach but just happens to be with the Irish has he approaches 20 years coaching at this level:

We understand that both videos represent only a fraction of what goes on during any given day. There is a lot of footage that ends up not being released, and there probably is plenty with language that wouldn’t fly for a general audience. Regardless, it’s great to see them guide and motivate their respective units.

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Notre Dame football: Irish add 2024 commitment from Georgia

Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting class has grown by one!

Relationships are not only a key to life but also successful recruiting.  That was certainly the case as Notre Dame went from non-existent to the future home of offensive lineman [autotag]Anthonie Knapp[/autotag] in short order.  Knapp, a three-star recruit in the 2024 class from Roswell High School in Georgia, was a top target of new Irish offensive line coach Joe Rudolph during Rudolph’s time at Virginia Tech.

Rudolph maintained that relationship after taking the Notre Dame job and just days after announcing an offer from the Irish, Knapp is the newest member of the 2024 class.  He checks in at 6-5 but just under 270-pounds so putting on the pounds will be a top order of business.

Five developments that all eyes will be on for Notre Dame’s spring practices

What do you need to see?

[autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] is back this week, Wednesday is the first day of spring practice. It seems like forever since we last saw the Irish on the football field, but it was just less than 3 months ago.

Plenty has changed since then, out is offensive coordinator [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag], [autotag]Gerad Parker[/autotag] was elevated. Offensive line coach [autotag]Harry Hiestand[/autotag] retired and head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] replaced him with [autotag]Joe Rudolph[/autotag] from Virginia Tech.

It has been a very interesting offseason to say the least, but football is back on the menu. Find out below five developments that all Notre Dame fans will be watching during spring practice.

Notre Dame offensive lineman makes big proclamation heading into 2023 season

The Irish have the potential to live up to this statement

If there is someone that talks the talk and walks the walk on [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag]’s offensive line, it’s tackle [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag]. In his two years in South Bend, Alt has been named a freshman All-American and then an All-American.

The expectation for him and his position group this coming season is sky high and Alt has made it even bigger. In a quote shared by Pro Football Focus, the soon-to-be preseason All-American believes the Irish offensive line will be the best in the nation.

There were not many losses from this past seasons group, [autotag]Jarrett Patterson[/autotag] is the only starter that needs to be replaced. Also gone is offensive line coach [autotag]Harry Hiestand[/autotag] and in comes [autotag]Joe Rudolph[/autotag]. The group is expected not to miss a beat and be one of the best, if not, the best in the country this coming fall.

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Notre Dame football officially names Joe Rudolph offensive line coach

Rudolph officially named to Notre Dame staff

Notre Dame made it official on Tuesday morning when they officially announced Joe Rudolph as their new offensive line coach.  Rudolph takes over for Harry Hiestand who retired in early February after returning to coach Notre Dame’s offensive line last year.

Notre Dame put out the official press release on the hiring of Rudolph Tuesday.  You can read it in full below.

SOUTH BEND, IN – Joe Rudolph, most recently the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Virginia Tech, has been named the Joe Moore Offensive Line Coach at the University of Notre Dame. The 18-year coaching veteran and Pennsylvania native developed some of the most dominant offensive lines in college football during his time at Wisconsin from 2015-21 and boasts eight years of offensive coordinator experience. The hiring will be effective at the conclusion of the University’s standard employment process.

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