Owen Strebig’s commitment to Notre Dame was a long time coming.
The first coach to ever have a recruiting conversation with the Rivals100 offensive tackle was current Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph. When Rudolph was Wisconsin’s offensive line coach, he first talked with the in-state prospect during his freshman year at Waukesha (Wisc.) Catholic Memorial.
Rudolph spent the 2022 season as Virginia Tech’s offensive line coach, but then Notre Dame hired him in March of 2023. Two weeks after Rudolph’s hiring was announced, he extended a Notre Dame scholarship to Strebig.
Strebig has been high on the Irish ever since then. On Thursday, the junior announced his verbal commitment to Notre Dame.
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Strebig committed to Notre Dame over finalists Wisconsin, Miami, Florida State and USC.
“Put it simply, it’s Notre Dame and Notre Dame football,” Strebig told Inside ND Sports. “That’s tough to beat.
“Then you go to the academic side. Hopefully I’m going to study in the Mendoza business school. The alumni connection is special. On the football side of it, I’m going to be able to get developed and play for a national championship year in and year out. That’s the standard at Notre Dame.
“They talk about the gold standard. That’s something that draws me. I want to be a part of that.”
Strebig first started to think about committing to Notre Dame after visiting the Irish in July. It was the third of his six visits to Notre Dame to date.
“That’s the first time the word commitment ever crossed my mind,” Strebig said. “From there on out, everything was just compared to Notre Dame. I said, ‘Well, does Notre Dame have this?’ when I was at one place.”
Strebig decided he was ready to commit after making visits to Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Miami — in that order — in January. Saying no to the Hurricanes actually ended up being harder than passing on the home state Badgers.
“It was tougher to say no to Miami, honestly. I had a better relationship with them,” Strebig said. “That one was a really tough one after that visit. I was just there. I felt really comfortable with the staff. Notre Dame and Miami were similar in my mind relationship-wise.
“It was tough, but at the end of the day, it’s what’s right for me and my family. It’s thinking that bigger picture and 4-for-40.”
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That’s the popular recruiting pitch for Notre Dame. That four years will set up a Notre Dame graduate for the next 40 years. Head coach Marcus Freeman and director of recruiting Chad Bowden have really leaned into that message.
But Strebig is the quality of recruit that may be playing football for a long time before he needs to put a college degree to use. Rivals ranks him as the No. 6 offensive tackle and No. 66 overall recruit in the 2025 class.
“Strebig is a mammoth tackle prospect heading to South Bend,” said Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith. “At 6-foot-8, 295-pounds, he’s certainly got the size you look for in a classic offensive tackle. He’s a punishing blocker at the point of attack that often looks to finish blocks by taking opponents to the ground. His long arms allow him to stop defenders before they can really get started in pass rush situations.
“There’s a chance he could kick inside to become a bigger guard. However, if he continues to refine his technique in college, the Irish could have a cornerstone tackle on their hands.”
If Strebig’s ranking holds, he could become the fifth Rivals100 offensive lineman to sign with Notre Dame in a five-class span after No. 26 Blake Fisher (2021), No. 68 Rocco Spindler (2021), No. 87 Billy Schrauth (2022) and No. 37 Guerby Lambert (2024).
Strebig added 159 points to Notre Dame’s top-ranked 2025 class. The Irish have 14 commitments worth 1,678 points. The No. 2 class, LSU, has nine commitments worth 1,381 points.
Strebig joined three-star recruit Will Black as the second offensive lineman to commit to Rudolph in the 2025 class. Four-star offensive tackle Jack Lange and three-star offensive tackle Matty Augustine remain near the top of Rudolph’s wish list.
The ability to be developed by Rudolph is only a small part of why Strebig wants to play for him.
“Obviously, I’ve known him for a while,” Strebig said. “I’ve been to campus multiples time. He’s been at my school multiple times. I’m comfortable with him. I think he’s comfortable with me.
“A big thing, too, is he knows my family, and I know his. You take out the X's and O's of football, because it’s so much bigger than football. It’s that relationship piece.
“You hear it a lot, but when you go through the process, you’ll finally realize the recruiting — photoshoots, steak dinners — that’s all fake. The relationships you make along the way are real.”
Those relationships for Strebig include the 2025 commitments he’s interacted with on visits together, online or over the phone. Four-star quarterback commit Deuce Knight built a close connection with Strebig and didn’t shy away from publicly recruiting him on social media. And Strebig’s already been talking with four-star tight end commit James Flanigan about making trips down to Notre Dame together from Wisconsin.
“I’m excited to finally make it official,” Strebig said, “and start building up this class and start recruiting guys.”
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