Notebook: Tosh Baker climbs back to the top of the Notre Dame depth chart

Before 2023 unanimous All-American Joe Alt surfaced at the top of the Notre Dame football depth chart at left offensive tackle for the first time in October of his freshman year (2021), then-sophomore Tosh Baker made his first two collegiate starts for the Irish.

And has been trying to climb back to No. 1 somewhere on the offensive line ever since.

Apparently Friday will be the day, as the 6-foot-8, 317-pound senior is now penciled in as the No. 1 right tackle for No. 16 Notre Dame’s Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl matchup with 19th-ranked Oregon State (8-4).

Irish QBs coach/interim offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli confirmed as much Tuesday after Baker and sophomore Aamil Wagner battled during bowl prep for the start following junior right tackle Blake Fisher’s decision to opt out of the Sun Bowl to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft as an early entry.

Kickoff at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, is 2 p.m. EST, and CBS has the telecast.

"Both of those guys did a good job,” Guidugli told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s practice in El Paso. “I think we’ve got good depth there. It was the attention to detail. [Offensive line] coach [Joe] Rudolph does a great job with them. At the end of the day, Tosh had a better week of preparation leading up to the game.”

Baker came to Notre Dame as a four-star prospect and the No. 137 overall recruit nationally regardless of position in the 2020 class. His scholarship offers included ones from Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Texas and Texas A&M.

Freshman Charles Jagusah will start for the Irish (9-3) at left tackle in place of Alt, who also opted out. Jagusah has played just five snaps in 2023, in a reserve role.

“Jags is just like, he’s a huge human being and moves really well for his size, Guidugli said. “And on top of that, the guy is a true freshman — and you teach him, he reps it, he knows it, and he can go execute it. His ability to take information and be able to apply it to the field and make adjustments on the fly is what’s going to make him special.”

Both the Irish and Oregon State will have significant inexperience on their respective offensive lines due to injuries, opt-outs and transfers — and new quarterbacks lining up behind them, in Notre Dame sophomore Steve Angeli and Oregon State redshirt sophomore Ben Gulbranson. The latter attempted just one pass during the 2023 regular season, but stepped in and started eight games for the Beavers in 2022 because of an injury at the position.

Friday will be Angeli’s first start.

“Got to go back to your basics, your foundation, your installs, the day one stuff from training camp. The fortunate thing is you get a lot of time to prepare for a game like this, so you get stuff in.

“We’ve got really smart kids at Notre Dame, and those guys will go out there and be able to execute. As far as how much you can put in, we’ll be able to do enough, but we’re going to lean on the things we think we’re best at.”

Notre Dame has not yet made the hiring of new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock official with a graphic and formal announcement, but a source told Inside ND Sports that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is flying Denbrock from Baton Rouge, La., to El Paso on Wednesday to take in an Irish practice, have dinner with the coaching staff, address the team Thursday morning, then fly back to Louisiana.

Inside ND Sports broke the news and reported Friday that the Irish were expected to hire Denbrock to replace Gerad Parker, the latter named earlier last week to be the head coach at Troy.

Thomas Harper’s bowl opt-out prompted Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden to work three players at the vacated nickel position led by senior Clarence Lewis, who saw game action at the position intermittently throughout the season.

Freshman cornerbacks Christian Gray and Micah Bell have also practiced at the position leading up to the Sun Bowl.

Grad senior linebacker Jack Kiser’s position versatility will be on full display Friday against Oregon State. Per Golden, Kiser will play the rover position, where he logged most of his time during the regular season, when the Irish roll out their base 4-3 alignment.

Sophomore Jaylen Sneed and grad senior JD Bertrand will play inside.

When the Irish take a linebacker off the field to play nickel, Kiser will slide inside with Bertrand.

“You could argue the last half of the season [he] has been one of the more productive players and has really improved,” Golden told reporters. “So, we’re excited. Obviously, an early Christmas gift for us when he announced to come back [for 2024].”

Sophomore vyper end Josh Burham will move from vyper end to strongside field end to help shore up the numbers on that side of the defensive line.

Grad senior Javontae Jean-Baptiste elected to play in the Sun Bowl and will start, but the Irish were short on rotation options.

The 6-4, 248-pound sophomore has played in 12 games this season, primarily as a reserve and special teams regular. He has 16 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss with a sack, and two QB hurries.

“Really either side,” Golden said when asked about Burnham’s future position, “but I do think his frame will allow him to hold considerably more weight and still be a really, really fluid athlete.

“He can run. He’s longer than a lot of people think when you stand next to him, so I do think he’s going to be a 255-pound player this coming season. And I think that’s really going to afford him the opportunity to go to hold up inside but yet be fast enough and fluid enough to rush the passer on the outside.”

All-Pac-12 running back Damien Martinez, suspended then reinstated for the Sun Bowl, won’t play after all for the Beavers because of too many missed practices due to the original suspension, per OSU interim coach Kefense Hynson.

The sophomore rushed for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns on 194 carries this season (6.1) average. He also caught 11 passes for 126 yards.

Moving to the top of the depth chart is 6-2, 222,pound redshirt senior Deshaun Fenwick. He has amassed more than 2,000 career yards combined at Oregon State and South Carolina. That includes 500 this season for the Beavers on 90 carries with five TDs,

“I’m all about the game, all about the Sun Bowl,” Hynson said of holding Martinez out. “But Damien has a whole ‘nother season to play at Oregon State. We don’t want to compromise that for one game. We’ve got capable guys that are more than ready to take on the load that have been practicing. … We’re going to protect the players. Sometimes you’ve got to protect the players from themselves.”

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