Everything Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph said during spring practice

Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph spoke to reporters Wednesday morning after spring practice. Here’s what he had to say.

On the abnormal spring at Notre Dame

I think it’s two-fold this spring. We played A LOT of football. Normal year you play a bowl game, and then in spring ball you have 15 practices. This year we played a bowl game and then we had 21 more practices and three games. If we’re going to be better on the offensive line, guys gotta get stronger and continue to develop. Some of the guys getting an opportunity to do that, and they’ll practice, but we’re not rushing to fly everybody back on the field and miss that opportunity of physical growth.

Coach Landow is doing a great job working with those guys, helping them to take those steps. But then, you’re right, you have different guys out for different periods so the guys being asked to step up are getting reps with the first group, or getting reps with the second group, which they may not have if this wasn’t the case. That allows them to play around a little bit better people, a little bit better communication, so you can see how they do. I think we have some good competition among them. 

On sophomore OT Styles Prescod emerging after missing 2024 with shoulder surgery

I think you said it: Like, last year, you saw a few things but most of the time he was recovering. So that’s a journey. You get somewhere, you get on campus, you’re excited to go, and then you can’t go. It’s a journey you take just making it to the point to get to practice here and you’re going. But he flashes, man, you see him do some really good things. He brings great energy. He’s excited, he’s not timid in his approach. I really like what he’s done so far, so I’m excited to see him.

On junior OL Charles Jagusah repping at guard during spring ball

I think the same thing. Do your best to get the best five guys on the field. I think Charles has great flexibility with what he can do, so that’s the biggest reason.

On what Jagusah did at guard during Notre Dame’s win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl

Yeah. If you put the film on when he was in the Penn State game and you watched him, you were like ‘Oh, who’s that dude?’ And you don’t do that a lot with offensive line, there’s a lot going on for a guy to stand out that way. So when you see someone who maybe could be as good as anyone in the country or better, you kind of keep developing in that spot as well. 

On junior OL Sullivan Absher getting reps at center

Him and Joe Otting and Cam Herron — they’re getting the majority of the reps this spring. Those guys are learning and it expands their roles. I’ve been excited from what i’ve seen. They’ve done good. Sully’s done a really good job. It’s hard to know two spots and to learn them like that. He’s embraced it.

On Absher trying to make it impossible not to include him in the best five

I see it in him. I see him continue to get better. Not worry about anything else but focus on what he needs to do to get better. And it shows up. His battle right now is just consistency. We’re trying to give him every opportunity to compete and get out there. He will. There’s no question he’s going to play a lot of ball here.

On if Notre Dame is working Lambert at both left and right tackle

No doubt. There were times last year we threw him in at guard and he jumped right in. He’s got that to him where he brings a maturity. Definitely working both left and right.

On Lambert’s opportunity this spring at Notre Dame

He gets a ton of reps. Last year he played in four games, we saved him, and then he was able to play in all four playoff games, which was good. Even though it was just field goal team, you’re still out there in meaningful moments. Him, guys like Styles Prescod, Sullivan Absher. We’ll push those guys hard. 

On possibly moving Wagner to left tackle for Lambert on the right

It’s possible. It’s possible. Right now Guerby is more the one to move and get both sides of it. I don’t know. It’s a good question. When we get Aamil back, it might be something we explore.

On his goals for sophomore OT Anthonie Knapp when healthy

He was pretty unique. Coming in I thought he would factor in more at internal positions like center or guard. He just was so natural playing out there and he’s got really good length. The average tackle height is 6-5 in the NFL. It’s not 6-8; that’s the outlier. He just really does some things that helped us and gave us some strength and power and consistency out there. We thought he played really well, so we’ll see. But he does have flexibility as well.

On if finding the best five is possible this spring at Notre Dame

I think it’s just getting better right now. The nice thing about this is we have all summer long to keep working, all of fall camp. And by the end of this, we’ll have guys that get back at the end of spring that can be out there together, too.

On this spring being unique in terms of availability

Sometimes you come into spring and guys are injured and they just can or can’t go. But this was a spring where you really wanted to spend time thinking about what’s the best plan? For once, the best plan was not all-encompassing. It may not involve everybody. It might be more individualized. Having awareness for that—I think Coach Freeman did a great job; Coach Landow did a great job of saying, ‘Hey, Aamil Wagner had 990 reps last year.’ I don’t know if anybody has ever had 990 reps in the history of college football. Maybe some guy last year. 

Nobody has that many reps. So how do you allow that young man to recover and to get stronger and to be a better version of himself the next time he gets out on the field.

On the fact that it seems impossible to find the best five this spring

Yeah, but in some ways, you have a lot of confidence in a lot of guys, and they got a lot of reps at certain positions, so you feel pretty good there. And then there’s going to be some battles—there’s going to be guys that can complete with them to be able to raise the bar or, in some cases, maybe win the job. Which is what you want to foster. 

On fostering leadership in the Notre Dame offensive line room

I thought we had a lot of leaders last year and they all led in different ways. Some were more vocal and out there, some were like ‘Dude, this guy…” 

‘Who would you most like to line up next to?’ is one of my questions I ask each O-Linemen, and every single guy says ‘Billy Schrauth.’ He has a vibe because of his mentality, his toughness, the way he wants to attack things, and makes me feel confident with his energy and his approach. That’s leadership. 

Same thing, ‘Who do you trust the most in your every day?’ And so many guys mention Aamil Wagner, and talk about just having a vision and seeing bigger picture things and helping guys to progress and get through things. And then young guys come in and I ask them “Who do you look to?’ and so many guys have said Ashton Craig helps me all through this in all different ways.

You hear so many guys for different guys being mentioned that you’re like ‘okay, we got the right stuff here.’ But I would say, as an impact last year, they were all in a heavy leadership approach to doing things. 

Sometimes it’s tricky. Sometimes it’s not just what’s best for the O-Line. Sometimes it’s you need to do what’s best for the whole offense on the field which is what’s best for the whole team. I thought the group we had out there last year at the end, some due to injury, some due to something bringing something that we needed. We needed a little bit of that energy and fire and I thought we had some guys that did a really good job of that, and I thought we built off that a little bit.

On if it’s easier for those guys to lead when they’re not taking spring reps

No. No. But they’re at practice and they’re coaching the heck out of guys. When you’re coaching it, there’s a different level. They’re not just watching. They’re studying, they’re giving feedback, they’re going through it. So you’re leading, just not in the mix of it where you affect other positions as well.

On how hard it is to keep Schrauth out of drills

He’s getting through what he needs to get through with that ankle, but yeah, they want to be out there and they want to be doing it, but part of me has said ‘Guys, don’t miss that opportunity to get stronger.’ I’ve been on their tails about that. So they’ll start phasing in. They’ll get a little bit more work and at separate times, I’ll take that group on the field and I’ll walk through and talk through all the details. We’ll just make time. We’ll have like office hours and we’ll go through all that stuff and help them do the same footwork, the same steps. They’re getting the reps, just not at the same time.

On the inevitability of having good players who don’t win starting jobs, and what they can learn from Notre Dame’s 2024 season

I think you look at the group last year and those that didn’t start the year ended up playing a major role in helping us in a huge way. Charles Jagusah was out for the year and then all of a sudden he makes a giant impact in the final two games of the season. You never know. We talk about targeted thinking, they’re job is ‘What’s my reality now? And what can I do today to make my vision a reality?’

That’s what they put their effort and energy into and that’s what we put our focus on. They’ve seen it happen for guys so I think they trust us.

On offering the 16-game season as a ‘dangling carrot’ for guys who don’t win starting jobs

I think it’s different for everyone. A lot of times guys know more than a lot of people give them credit for. They know where they’re at in their progression. And sometimes, they don’t. But I think self-awareness is big for someone’s development. When they have it, it just helps them accept where they are and stay focused on what to come by taking advantage of the day at hand and I think we’ve got that in that room. We have a really good group. They’re smart, they care about each other, and as much as they’re pushing and wanting all the things they want for themselves, their want for each other is equal.