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Notre Dame O-Line Not Lowering The Bar(s)

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Left tackle Liam Eichenberg and the Irish offensive line want to prove they can still thrive minus Alex Bars.
Left tackle Liam Eichenberg and the Irish offensive line want to prove they can still thrive minus Alex Bars. (Angela Driskell)
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Junior left tackle Liam Eichenberg spoke in respectful tones earlier this week about Virginia Tech’s defensive front and the leadership they have received from long-time venerated defensive coordinator Bud Foster.

“They’re a great defensive front, definitely one of the best we’ll face this year,” Eichenberg said.

He also was mindful of the intense noise and hostile atmosphere at Miami last year when the 8-1 and No. 3-ranked Fighting Irish had their Playoff hopes crushed with a 41-8 pasting versus the Hurricanes, and realizes Saturday night at Lane Stadium will also have an atmosphere high in decibel levels.

“It was absurdly loud,” he said of Miami. “It was something I had never been around and obviously we as a team had never been around. It was kind of a shock just a little bit. Coach [Brian] Kelly has done a phenomenal job this week of getting us ready for that situation.”

And then came the “money quote” that brings out the clicks.

“I’m excited to go in there, kick the s- out of them, get a win and then get out of there,” Eichenberg stated.

While that does not follow the tenets of the “Know Your Clichés” Notre Dame Football Handbook, Kelly did not appear to object to the statement made in public — provided it can be backed up.

“I’d rather have a confident football team as long as it is not a cocky and overconfident football team,” Kelly said. “I’d much rather be confident than a team that is not feeling confident. They know if they prepare the right way and eliminate distractions that they are a good football team. I am okay with that. We’ve worked hard on that. They know who they are … As long as it is not too far out there.”

“We want to show that no matter what situation and what circumstance, we can get out there and dominate,” said Eichenberg as a final summary.

The "situation" and "circumstance" centers on the loss of fifth-year senior captain and All-America candidate Alex Bars at left guard to a season ending knee injury halfway through the third quarter of last week’s 38-17 win versus No. 7 Stanford.

Replacing him will be senior Trevor Ruhland, who received his first career start Sept. 22 at Wake Forest when junior right guard Tommy Kraemer was slowed by an ankle injury. He assimilated well in the 56-27 romp over the Demon Deacons, but will face a different challenge in Blacksburg.

Sam Mustipher, like Bars a fifth-year senior and captain, rooms with Bars, Ruhland and walk-on guard Logan Plantz off-campus, so there is at least a bond/chemistry that is shared.

“His football IQ is off the charts,” Mustipher said of Ruhland. “I expect nothing less of him than what I would from Bars in terms of physicality and understanding the game.”

Ruhland was the original starter along the line this spring before a torn pectoral muscle early on limited him and his shot at a starting guard position.

“What helps with Trevor is he was the back-up center, and so he’s ready to step in at all times (to make calls),” Mustipher said. “At center you really have to know what everybody has to do. It is an advantage because it’s like having two centers on the field at once — not to say Alex didn’t know as much as Trevor, because he clearly did. Trevor knows all five positions, he knows how to see blitzes and pressures.”

Also assisting at left guard, per Kelly, will be sophomore Aaron Banks, who at 6-6, 319 pounds supplies more range and girth than the 6-3 ½, 295-pound Ruhland.

“The biggest thing is being able to hold my own when it comes to a bull rush or moving a big guy off the ball,” Ruhland said.

That’s where Banks might come into play.

“He’s a big and athletic kid that has gained confidence in his ability, to put it bluntly,” Kelly said of Banks. “I think what we like about him the most is that he’s adapted well to go from tackle to guard this week. Kind of excited to watch him play.”

A prime reason why Bars was shifted from right guard to left guard this spring was to serve as a mentor next to first-time starting left tackle Eichenberg. Through five games, Eichenberg is grateful how that apprenticeship has already yielded huge dividends.

“I can’t explain how much he’s improved my game, especially from picking up tendencies to understanding each individual play, my responsibility and how I should block to it that it’s successful,” he said.

“One of the things he really stresses is you can never quit. Even if you mess up, just keep going, give 100 percent no matter what you’re doing.”

It’s the best way to keep the offensive line bar, or Bars, high at Notre Dame in 2018.

Trevor Ruhland will receive his second start this season, this time at left guard in pace of Bars.
Trevor Ruhland will receive his second start this season, this time at left guard in pace of Bars. (Bill Panzica)

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