There were high expectations for the Notre Dame offensive line coming into the 2024 season, but the unit certainly hasn't been as good as hoped for. A big part of that issue is we haven't seen the line that we expected to see, literally. Injuries have sapped the line of over half of its projected starters, and combined with the youth from the group it has proven to be problematic for the offense.
Notre Dame goes into the second half of the season without Charles Jagusah and Ashton Craig , and we still don't know when Billy Schrauth will return, and how he'll perform coming off of his injury. There are no reinforcements on the way this season, so the key will be getting this unit to play better in all phases of the game.
This ultimately will be the key to Notre Dame's offense improving over the second half of the season. If this unit doesn't make strides - and in some ways big strides - the offense will continue to be limited in what it can do. Joe Rudolph has a big task in front of him, but that is the expectation for a Notre Dame offensive line. Even with all the losses there is still a lot of talent on the depth chart, and the level of play we've seen so far is inexcusable, even with the context of the injuries. This line must do better, and the line coach needs to make sure that happens.
On the surface there are some positives from the performance of the offensive line. Notre Dame ranks 20th nationally in rushing at 214.0 yards per game, and the offense 6th nationally with a 6.2 yards per carry average. Notre Dame also ranks 8th nationally in most rushing plays of 30 yards or more.
That success looks well on the line, but when you break down the film you'll see that while the line has had some good moments, that is more about having three dynamic ball carriers in Jeremiyah Love (6.5 YPC), Jadarian Price (7.3 YPC) and Riley Leonard (6.3 YPC).
Despite Leonard's impressive escapability the Irish line has given up eight sacks this season, which ranks 51st in the nation. The Irish rank 59th in sacks allowed per game, and Pro Football Focus ranks the Notre Dame offense 109th nationally in pass protection. Only seven Power 4 teams rank worse.
The Irish line has struggled with consistent and execution. There are drives when the unit comes off well, executes and pushes the defense around. A series later and the unit gets no push, can't handle simple line games and allows the quarterback to get pressured far too easily.
The inability to protect the quarterback and open up run lanes played a big role in the offense stalling out against Louisville after a red hot start. Leonard was getting pressured and hit on quick game throws, which should never happen. The offense lost its rhythm and could not completely put Louisville away in the way it could and should have.
Questions about the talent of the current group really don't have a lot to do with whether or not the unit can execute its assignments on a consistent basis. The line replaced two young starters (Craig, Schrauth) with two veteran players who started 10+ games last season (Spindler, Pat Coogan ). There's no excuse for the assignment mistakes we've seen from the line in pass protection, and hopefully that was addressed - and corrected - during the bye week.
If Notre Dame simply improves its ability to pass protect from the standpoint of being assignment correct the offense will get better. Leonard will have more time to throw and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will be able to add a bit more vertical game to the game. While Leonard gets much of the blame for not attacking down the field as much as needed, it's hard to call that and throw that when the protection is so inconsistent, and at times just bad.
Then it comes down to individual players stepping up their game, and that begins on the left side. Freshman Anthonie Knapp was put into a very bad spot this season by being thrust into the starting lineup sooner than expected, and before he was truly ready. Knapp has competed, and he's been pretty good in the run game at times, but his pass protection has been a major problem so far this season.
The good news is that Knapp is coming off his best game against Louisville. He held up relatively well against the talented ends and didn't give up a pressure for the first time this season. The hope is that Knapp can use the bye week to study film, improve his game and continue that performance moving forward. Studying Leonard you can see him drift right a lot, which is what you often see from a quarterback who doesn't trust his blindside protection. Knapp and left guard Sam Pendleton improving their pass pro would help to alleviate that.
Being more consistent in the run game is also a must, but the line has been relatively solid at run blocking for much of the season. The improvements needed there are typical of this stage in the season. Getting better is key, but the gap between where they are in the run game and where they need to be - from a blocking standpoint - isn't all that far off. It's the pass game where the big leap is needed, and if we see that against Stanford, and then moving forward, expect to see the offense get a lot more explosive, more efficient and capable of scoring a lot more points.
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