BlueandGold.com had the chance to watch Notre Dame offensive line commits Joey Tanona (2022) of Zionsville (Ind.) and Blake Fisher (2021) of Avon (Ind.) square off in a can’t-miss matchup Oct. 9.
Avon got the better of Zionsville 28-19, but it was a hotly contested game throughout. There were multiple occasions during the game where Fisher was substituted in to play defense and lined up directly across from his future Notre Dame teammate, Tanona.
After the completion of the game, we spoke with Zionsville head coach, Scott Turnquist about his four-star offensive line prospect.
“Joey brings a lot of effort and toughness to this team,” Turnquist said of Tanona. “He brings a lot of physicality and athleticism to our offensive line. He also brings mental toughness and a mental edge to that group which improves our team.”
The physical and mental toughness Turnquist mentioned has been seen all season long by the Zionsville coaching staff and anyone who knows Tanona. In his career at Zionsville, Tanona had played guard or tackle along the offensive line but never center.
Due to injuries on the line, Turnquist felt Tanona’s talents would serve the team best at center, a position completely unknown to the 6-5, 290-pounder.
“He jumped right in and is willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win,” Turnquist explained. “He is a ‘no questions asked’ kind of guy, and he was always going to do whatever we asked him to do. It was a team need for us and he stepped in and played very well.”
It takes a special athlete to be able to play any position on the offensive line, much less succeed and play at an outstanding level as Tanona did. Whether Turnquist needs him to play guard, tackle, center, or even defense, he knows he can rely on Tanona to get the job done.
“His physicality, athleticism, and versatility set him apart,” Turnquist said. “He can do a lot of different things for us and I truly think if we had to bump him back out to tackle he would be ready for it.”
There was no denying that Tanona was one of the best players on the field against Avon, next to fellow Irish commit Blake Fisher. Each dominated their position, and the plays where Fisher and Tanona matched up against each other were intriguing for everyone in attendance.
Both stood their ground against each other and it was actually very impressive to see Tanona go toe-to-toe with Fisher, who is a year older and larger in stature.
Rivals ranks Tanona as the nation's No. 169 overall player and No. 25 offensive tackle in the 2022 plus, plus the No. 3 prospect in the Hoosier State.
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