Sullivan Absher shares which Notre Dame players are guiding him

Every freshman remembers their first college fall camp with weeks filled with eating, sleeping, and breathing football in a way that doesn’t quite exist at the high school level.

Notre Dame freshman offensive lineman Sullivan Absher is in the midst of his first fall camp with the Fighting Irish, trying to stay up to speed on a new playbook and translate his skills to the practice field. But he’s not doing it alone, as he was recently asked following a practice which older players have been helping him out and showing him the ropes so far.

“I’d say it’s a three-way tie between Tosh Baker, Joe Alt, and then Blake Fisher just because they all play tackle and they were in my shoes three, four years ago. Two, whatever it may be, but they’ve been really great,” Absher said.

Absher is definitely learning from some of Notre Dame’s best, especially Alt and Fisher who started all 13 games for the Fighting Irish last season and will likely translate their game from Saturdays to Sundays in the NFL one day.

Notre Dame’s offensive line was dominant last season, especially when they caught their rhythm in the last eight games of the season where they cleared the way for a 224 rushing yards per game average and only allowed just 13 sacks. And although they were likely feared by their opponents, they’ve been more of a gentle giant presence for Absher in his first season in South Bend.

“Whatever questions I may have they’ll pull me to the side after drills or whatever, work with me on pass pro, run game, playbook, whatever it may be,” Absher said.

Absher was also asked which parts of his game he wants to work on or emulate from the veterans in front of him, revealing that the smoothness of Notre Dame’s offensive line is what he’s striving to achieve.

“Really just how smooth they play, like how seamless they are translating the playbook, and tags, and film sessions to the field,” Absher explained. “They just make it look so easy sometimes and that’s really what my main goal is right now is to close the gap and get closer to playing as smooth as those guys.”

Absher was a four-star prospect out of high school, ranked the No. 18 offensive tackle in the nation out of Belmont, North Carolina according to On3’s Industry Ranking.

It will likely be hard for him to earn playing time in a highly competitive unit that’s poised as a Joe Moore Award contender, but his o-line brothers taking him under their wings already is a great sign of the future for the Irish.