Notre Dame offensive linemen like to talk about standards. Upholding them more so than setting them. Continuing a culture and passing it on more so than building one.
The combination of a sustained culture and recruiting success produces 11 straight seasons with a top-50 NFL Draft pick at left tackle, Joe Moore Award finalist units, nine linemen draft picks since 2014 and a performance floor that has remained relatively high even in years of turnover.
This season, though, presents a new challenge to the standard. In the end, Notre Dame could point to 2021 as a sign of sturdy offensive line culture. At the same time, it’s a high hurdle that has not been in play before.
A line that returned more than 100 starts last fall brings back just 31 this year, a stark contrast that sets up for an assumed step back. The 2020 line had three All-Americans and four senior starters, after all. That level of experience and cohesiveness is not recreated in one offseason.
But just how far will that backpedal go? How much can culture and high expectations help a line that loses three top-100 draft picks and seems likely to play at least one freshman become effective on a weekly basis?
