Saturday was as solid an indication as any that everything is not always as it seems.
Notre Dame fans might’ve thought they had the Irish offensive line figured out four months ago. Heck, the media and maybe even some of the coaching staff probably figured everything was in order too.
Freshman phenom Blake Fisher at left tackle. Senior Josh Lugg at right tackle. Another freshman superstar in the making in Rocco Spindler at left or right guard. Reliable senior center-turned-guard Jarrett Patterson at the other guard spot. Junior Zeke Correll making the move to center to round out the starting five.
Nope.
Only one of those players repped in those respective places in Notre Dame’s first practice of fall camp this past Saturday; Lugg was at right tackle. Neither of the freshmen practiced with the ones. Patterson moved back to center, and Correll slid to left guard. Sophomore Tosh Baker practiced at left tackle, and senior John Dirksen found himself at right guard.
Is that the way the Irish will line up for the season opener at Florida State on Sept. 5? Probably not. It was Day 1 of fall camp. A lot can change between then and Week 1. But it certainly proved that Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn have much to figure out before the Irish clash with the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
“Here’s what I can tell you; Jarrett Patterson is the starting center, and Josh Lugg is going to play for us,” Kelly said. “Those two guys are the veterans on this offensive line that I can commit to right now. Everybody else has got to earn their way.”
That includes Marshall graduate transfer Cain Madden, who has started more collegiate games (31) than every other aforementioned Notre Dame offensive lineman combined. Madden worked mostly as the second-team right guard behind Dirksen on Saturday.
Kelly did offer an off-field tidbit that could help Madden in the long-run, though.
“Cain rooms with Kurt Hinish,” Kelly said. “Kurt is a very popular player on our team. So by virtue of that relationship, Cain has been embedded into our football team from that perspective. He’s well-liked. His personality fits in really well with the guys.”
It’s going to take more than being respected by the group to earn a starting role, however. Madden has work to do over the next month, just as Fisher does to usurp Baker at left tackle.
Baker played sparingly in two games as a true freshman last season. Outside of being around the program longer and having a full fall’s worth of practice reps under his belt, Baker does not have a vast resume to deem himself more worthy of a starting role than Fisher.
It’ll come down to these vital fall camp repetitions. Fisher could earn the nod. Baker could keep it. Dirksen, despite Madden being the most experienced offensive lineman on the team, just might do enough to start over the grad transfer. Perhaps even Spindler comes along nicely in camp and pushes past Correll on the depth chart.
Anything could happen. Offensive line is a position group that takes time to materialize. Yes, there is less than a month until the season kicks off in the Sunshine State. But Kelly and Quinn can learn so much about what they have up front in just one day — in just one drill, even.
Kelly said he isn’t concerned as much about chemistry across the line as he is simply identifying the best five linemen on the team and putting them in place across the line. He’s got just under four weeks to do so.
“Hold on before we say, ‘Hey, this is what this is going to look like,’” Kelly said. “We’re going to keep competition at all of those positions with the eye towards Lugg is playing and Patterson is playing, and then we’ll figure out the rest.”
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