Sizing up OT Aamil Wagner's challenge to top the Notre Dame depth chart
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The jaw-dropping number Aamil Wagner dropped earlier this week when discussing his peak daily caloric intake looks like a typo.
Eight thousand.
“Five eggs, burrito, potatoes, 1,500 calories in muffins, 2,000 [in] a shake,” the Notre Dame junior offensive tackle began casually rattling off describing a singular breakfast.
The other astonishing number regarding Wagner is the 281-pound figure the 6-foot-6 wannabe starter was listed at when Irish spring football practice commenced on March 7 — which he is happy to report is now outdated.
“I’m 290, sitting at 290-plus now,” Wagner said, adding the goal is to be 300 by the time fall camp rolls around in August and to maintain or build during the season.
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Body mass is a big part of the equation on how far and how fast Wagner has been able to climb the depth chart since he arrived at Notre Dame in June of 2022, from the same high school that produced ND head coach Marcus Freeman and Irish defensive backs coach Mike Mickens — Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne.
He weighed in at 255 a month before he first enrolled and measured at 6-4. 180 as a high school freshman.
Given that Wagner professes that his mom, Teresa Bondurant-Wagner, is the world’s best cook, it doesn’t square that instead of fighting the battle of the bulge, he’s battling to bulge his body mass.
She was also a three-sport athlete at Yellow Spring (Ohio) High and a four-time Ohio state qualifier in the 100-meter dash, which might also explain his breakneck metabolism.
“I think if I wasn’t playing football, I wouldn’t eat this much,” he said. “But you know, it’s a passion I have. It’s a love for the game that I’m willing to make the sacrifices of doing the extra food and it tastes good so I’m happy about it.”
As Notre Dame heads into its fourth practice of 15 this spring on Saturday and second in full pads, Wagner is essentially competing with Sun Bowl starters, sophomore Charles Jagusah and grad senior Tosh Baker, to be a 2024 starter.
The 6-7, 329-pound Jagusah figures to have the best foothold on a starting berth, at left tackle. So it’s likely a battle between Wagner and the 6-8, 321-pound Baker — his housemate — at right tackle.
Jagusah and Baker stepped in last Dec. 29 in the 40-8 Sun Bowl romp over Oregon State after juniors Joe Alt and Blake Fisher opted out as early entries into the NFL Draft.
“For me, I think it’s overthinking,” Wagner said of the biggest challenge he faced last December during bowl beyond his size that held him back. “I was always big on understanding the entire game. My dad was a defensive coordinator. Early on at a young age I knew defenses. I knew how to recognize patterns.
“So, when it’s presnap I want to look at everything. I want to see where the safeties are, I want to see where the linebackers are, if the corners press. So, I think taking too much information in and not focusing directly on what I need to focus on, just on assessing the edge, is probably the most difficult thing.
“Kind of like trying to hone in on what I’m looking at and like, not tunnel vision but just more precise. I don’t need to look at everything. I look at my assignment and my job. But besides that, I think just taking time to calm down, take a breath and then play.”
His approach to gaining weight may help explain why his climb has been more deliberate than dramatic. With the blessing and direction of new director of football performance Loren Landow, Wagner focuses on building strength over building bulk, with the belief that the increased size will eventually come with the increased strength.
“I think the way I added weight might be different than other people,” he said. “A lot of it is just, quite a lot of it’s muscle. So, being able to add weight without losing my athletic ability was the biggest thing for me.
“I came in pretty fast, came pretty agile. So, those were my strengths, and I wanted to keep those strengths. So, being able to add weight in the way I did strategically was huge for me.”
And now, two months-plus into working with Landow?
“I feel a lot stronger,” Wagner said. “I think coach Landow has done a tremendous job when it comes to putting us in a position to be successful and putting us in a position to be strong and powerful and be healthy at the same time.
“So, this eight-week training schedule (I have) gained a lot of muscle, gained a lot of explosiveness. And now a year removed or two years — whatever it’s been training — I feel at my best, at my strongest, at my fastest.”
Notre Dame second-year offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has taken notice as he’s essentially opened the competition up at all five O-line positions.
“I think the great part is,” Rudolph said, “like if we're doing our job, then these guys will continue to raise the bar of, ‘Who has the best pass set? What’s our best drive block? What’s the best we can fit a deuce? How do we best protect when we're manned up?’
“And I think that's why you have the team, and that's why you battle position groups. When they're competing and helping each other to get better, that’s the value of having a great room. A great room helps each other get better. That’s what I appreciate about a group of guys. So that'll always be valued, how they perform, how they continue to grow.
“There's a way in which guys can play where they make the guy next to them better. Sometimes it's communication. Sometimes it's their physicality. Sometimes it's the detail with which they play with.
“So, that's always something guys that really complement each other, when they play together, can be a factor. We're going to compete and keep growing, and we’re going to have the best group out there for sure.”
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