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Notre Dame 2026 Player Profile: Offensive Lineman Will Black
- Story byRoundtable Sports
- Notre Dame 2026 Player Profile: Offensive Lineman Will Black
(Angela Driskell, Irish Breakdown)
Notre Dame will have a new starting left tackle in 2026 and that player is expected to be redshirt freshman Will Black. A former five-star recruit, Black steps into the lineup with incredibly high expectations at a premium position. How well he performs will certainly have a significant say in how good the Irish line will be in 2026.
We continue with our Notre Dame season preview series with a look at Black:
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WILL BLACK PROFILE
Class/Eligibility: Sophomore / Freshman
Height/Weight: 6-7, 316
Hometown/High School: London, Ontario/Choate Rosemary Hall (CT)
IB EVALUATION
"Black was one of the best evaluations this coaching staff made during the 2025 cycle. When he committed back in December of 2023 he was a bit of a raw prospect with massive size and some athletic skills, but his film wasn't dominant. You could see the elite size and easy movement skills, so Black was a take from a potential standpoint immediately. Over the next year he emerged as one of the best tackles in the nation, and went from being a Top 250 prospect on my board to a five-star, Top 25 prospect. Black's combination of length and athleticism is as good as you'll see. His quickness out of his stands is special, and you see it in the pass game and run game. He'll have a chance to be an elite puller, his pass pro upside is enormous and he fits the zone schemes extremely well. Black has the kind of frame to easily get to 315+ pounds when it's all said and done. The tools are elite, but he will need to add a lot more strength before he's ready to thrive at the collegiate level."
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FALL CAMP PREVIEW
Black had a solid spring at left tackle. He had the ups-and-downs you'd expect from a young player with no legitimate game snaps, and a player who spent the previous season playing mostly guard. Despite all that, Black showed off the big time talent that made him arguably the top player in Notre Dame's 2025 class. For Black, fall camp is about building on what he showed in the spring. It's about developing consistency, it's about playing with a bit more confident, it's about him being able to play with a bit more force. The tools are there for him to be a first-year standout, but he'll need to keep getting better than better.
One thing that should help Black quite a bit in fall camp is what he'll be facing every day in practice. Being able to go against players like Boubacar Traore, Bryce Young, Keon Keeley, Rodney Dunhamand the rest of the edge players should help him to grow. If he can handle his business against them he'll be ready to roll once games start.
2026 EXPECTATIONS
Notre Dame has had a freshman All-American along the offensive line in three of the last five seasons, including in each of the last two seasons with Anthonie Knappand Guerby Lambertearning that honor. Black absolutely has the talent and opportunity to become the next player to earn that honor.
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Beyond the accolades, the expectation is that Black is able to be a steady contributor at left tackle in his first season. He doesn't have to be a star in his first season as a starter, and that was also true for Zack Martin, Ronnie Stanley, Mike McGlincheyand Liam Eichenbergin their first season's in the lineup. They were good players, but they needed time to become the stars they would eventually become. If that's all we get from Black in year one that's a win. But if he plays beyond that, Black will quickly grow into his five-star upside and become an impact blocker for the Irish.
If we had a chance to see Black play some left tackle last season perhaps I'd feel a bit more certain about what we'll see from Black. I was impressed with his performance this spring, but we never got a chance to see him play left tackle as Joe Rudolphused him mostly at guard last season. That's still a head scratcher, but Black did seem to quickly get comfortable playing left tackle as we worked through the spring. That's why I'm confident saying Black has a chance to become more than just a solid first-year starter.
A GOOD SEASON FOR BLACK WOULD BE ....
One in which he can can at the very least be a steady presence in the offensive line early on, and then continue to grow throughout the season. Black is an elite talent, there's little doubt about that, but he doesn't have to reach his full potential as a redshirt freshman. But being steady in year one, and then showing more and more stretches of being an impact blocker would certainly make for a great first season for Black.
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