Notre Dame Football: 5 bold predictions for September 2018

5. The offensive line doesn’t skip a beat

After losing two top 10 draft picks in Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame’s offensive line will feature a decent amount of inexperience this season. Most notably, junior left tackle Liam Eichenberg will be charged with holding down quarterback Brandon Wimbush’s blind side despite little experience.

While that’s the plan to fill the void at left tackle, there’s still work to be done in the wake of fifth-year senior Alex Bars’ transition from right to left guard. The logic behind this move is that Eichenberg will benefit from the veteran presence of Bars, but the switch will lead to needs along the right side of the line as well.

To accommodate these changes, junior Tommy Kraemer will move out of a timeshare with sophomore Robert Hainsey and into a full-time role at right guard. This leaves Hainsey with his own full-time role at right tackle, finishing out a Eichenberg – Bars – Mustipher – Kraemer – Hainsey line from left to right.

While the line is now set, there are still numerous hurdles left to jump through. For one, the Irish have replaced former offensive line coach Harry Hiestand with Jeff Quinn. These challenges may seem steep, but the talent is there for this Irish offensive line to keep the pace throughout the 2018 season.