Notre Dame Offensive Line Striving To EAT Its Way Back
Will the real 2019 Notre Dame offensive line please stand up?
Was it the unit that mashed archrival and Pac 12 South favorite USC for 308 yards rushing during a 30-27 victory on Oct. 12?
Or, after a bye, was it the group that was dominated by Michigan while finishing with 47 yards rushing in the 45-14 defeat this past weekend?
Junior right tackle/captain Robert Hainsey was a starter on both the 2017 and 2018 units that ranked among the nation’s best — highlighted by winning the Joe Moore Award in 2017 — and the first objective in practice this week for the group is to eat right.
That’s EAT as in the acronym for Effort, Assignment and Technique.
“Effort is first and foremost, and that’s where physicality comes in,” Hainsey began. “You have to go play as hard as you can. You have to be physical, you have to hit people as hard as you can and dominate your blocks.”
One can’t always control how one performs, but there is no reason to lack effort.
“Then you go to your assignment,” Hainsey continued. “You have to know what you’re doing and where to be, when to be there and who you’re blocking.
“Technique — you need to know how to do it using our technique and fundaments that we’ve been coached, to the best of our ability. It’s all those things combined.”
The disappointment and confusion of what went wrong at Michigan resonated in Hainsey’s face this week when peppered with inquiries about it. As a team leader, though, he said, it’s important to remain composed while also communicating what went wrong while taking the necessary means to correct them.
“I try to be the same guy every day,” he said. “I don’t believe that you can change who you are just because things are going good or bad. Things are always going to go good and bad, and if you change based on that, it’s not real.”
One change he will have to deal with this week, and possibly the rest of the regular season, is not having senior right guard Tommy Kraemer aligned next to him. During the loss at Michigan, Kraemer on his 19th snpa, suffered a sprained MCL that is projected to sideline him the next four to six weeks.
Replacing Kraemer is a familiar figure in 6-3 ½, 292-pound fifth-year senior Trevor Ruhland, although 6-7, 307-pound junior Josh Lugg also will see action, per head coach Brian Kelly.
Projected as the heir to three-year starting center Sam Mustipher (2016-18), Ruhland started five games at left or right guard last season during the run to the College Football Playoff. However, numerous surgeries, both to his knee and shoulder, have slowed him to the point where he’s not necessarily viewed as a full-time figure over the long haul.
Ruhland was sidelined during the spring, which is why the long-term solution at center was shifting sophomore left tackle Jarrett Patterson there. Still, there is a reliability factor with Ruhland with regard to mobility and assignment correctness.
“Trevor’s come in before and we’ve played next to each other in numerous games,” Hainsey said. “We’re very cohesive together, I don’t think we’re going to miss a beat. He’s been here longer than anyone in that room and he knows the offense forward, backward, up and down.”
While it cannot be said that anyone excelled at Michigan, Kelly was encouraged by Ruhland’s showing.
"We liked his activity, working up to the second level on linebackers — which we did not do a great job of,” Kelly said. “We're pleased with his work in a situation where he had to come in right off the bench.”
Listed as the No. 2 left tackle, Lugg also has taken reps at guard and center and is considered the Swiss Army Knife figure along the line.
Against long-time and esteemed Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, pressure is brought from everywhere, which is reflected by having five different players with at least three sacks. With the Hokies having an extra week to prepare, the Irish might even see some new wrinkles, although that’s hardly new for the third-year starter Hainsey.
“I learned pretty early in my freshman year … what I see on film is going to be some of what I see in the game, but it’s going to change,” he said. “…For us it’s about communicating, doing our job and up front seeing everything through one set of eyes so we know what’s coming, what to expect and how to adjust to it.
“They’re always going to bring out something against us that we haven’t seen before, so expecting the unexpected is big.”
Bouncing back, mentally and physically, from the unexpected last week will be especially crucial.
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