Joe Rudolph says transition to Notre Dame is going great

Marcus Freeman made a big addition to his coaching staff this offseason, bringing in Joe Rudolph to coach the Notre Dame offensive line. And Rudolph is quickly getting acclimated during his first fall camp leading the Irish.

Reflecting on his transition with Notre Dame, Rudolph had a lot of positive things to say. Most notably, he’s found that the communication among staff and players is top notch, making it easy to maximize the time spent repping in practice.

“I think it’s going great. I think the communication’s been outstanding. What we’re trying to accomplish each practice as a team, as an offense, I think that it’s easy to set the tone for the guys in the room and help them take full advantage of that day,” Rudolph said.

An impressive coaching resume precedes Rudolph, who spent the 2022 season at Virginia Tech. Prior to that, he was the offensive line coach, offensive coordinator and run game coordinator at Wisconsin at various points from 2015-2021. In those six seasons at Wisconsin, his alma mater, Rudolph helped produce a litany of NFL draft picks.

That was his second stint in Wisconsin. He also coached tight ends for the Badgers from 2008-11. Rudolph has also coached at Pittsburgh, Nebraska and Ohio State.

Some of the NFL players that Rudolph has coached in his career include: Derek Watt, Tyler Boyd, James Conner, Ryan Ramczyk, Brian O’Neill, Tyler Biadasz, Jonathan Taylor and Logan Bruss.

Rudolph has made a quick impression on the Notre Dame linemen

There are high hopes up front for Notre Dame this upcoming season, as their offensive and defensive lines should both play major roles in the team’s success per usual. There were a few changes to the offensive line this offseason, the biggest being offensive line coach Harry Hiestand deciding retire after returning to Notre Dame for just one season last year following a previous six year stint with the program.

Rudolph steps in for Hiestand to help lead the Fighting Irish offensive line for the 2023 season, and at fall camp, star offensive tackle Joe Alt shared his first impressions of Rudolph.

“I really enjoy coach Rudolph,” Alt said. “I think the biggest thing I take away is the ability to use your hands, I’ve always kind of been pretty similar with my hands, king of the same depth and stuff. He’s big on using your finish arm and I think that’s kind of unique and helps you finish in the run game, I’ve really enjoyed that.”