Should recent trends continue, Notre Dame is poised to field one of the nation’s top offensive lines.
The Irish had an outstanding line in 2013, with future first round NFL Draft Pick Zack Martin leading a unit that gave up just eight sacks.
Inconsistency plagued the 2014 line, but the 2015 unit was arguably the best in the country. It was led by three future first round picks (Ronnie Stanley, Quenton Nelson, Mike McGlinchey) and a future second round pick (Nick Martin).
The presence of Nelson and McGlinchey couldn’t keep the 2016 line from playing up and down football during a disastrous 4-8 campaign.
Four starters from that unit returned in 2017, and they made up the nation’s best offensive line. Nelson and McGlinchey departed following that season and both were selected among the first nine picks of the 2018 NFL Draft.
After a rough start to the 2018 season, the line started to hit its mark in the third game , but a season-ending injury to left guard Alex Bars – who had been the best player on the offense during the first five games – stunted the development of the line, which played erratic football the remainder of the season.
Four starters from the line that ended the season return, and there is a great deal of potential with the 2019 offensive line. It is poised to become one of the nation’s best, assuming it can reach its full potential. This will be without question the biggest test of line coach Jeff Quinn’s tenure at Notre Dame.
Quinn will be tasked with getting his returners to raise their game to a higher level, to get the unit to play more consistently sound football, and to find a replacement for three-year starter Sam Mustipher at center.
Let’s take a look at what must happen if the 2019 line is going to play to its potential and become one of the nation’s best units.
STARS MUST EMERGE
It is hard to be an elite offensive line without having at least one star player, and the more top-level players that emerge the better the Irish will be next fall. Notre Dame had two All-Americans in 2017 (Nelson, McGlinchey), but at times Bars played at an extremely high level as well.
