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Notre Dame 2026 Preview: Irish Offensive Line Could Be Elite
- Story byRoundtable Sports
- Notre Dame 2026 Preview: Irish Offensive Line Could Be Elite
(Angela Driskell, Irish Breakdown)
Notre Dame has earned the reputation as "OL U" for its past dominance on the offensive line and its ability to produce high NFL Draft picks. In recent seasons the Irish offensive line has been solid, but it hasn't played to the level you'd expect from a unit that is considered the nation's best at producing big time OL.
That is expected to change in 2026, or at least it needs to change in 2026. Notre Dame has its most talented offensive line in years, and now Joe Rudolphgets a chance to fully show that his recruiting will pay off and he can produce big time OL on the field as well.
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Let's continue our 2026 season preview with a look at the Notre Dame offensive line.
DEPTH CHART
RETURNING PRODUCTION
Anthonie Knapp
- 12 starts - 688 snaps
Guerby Lambert
- 12 starts - 684 snaps
Joe Otting- 6 starts - 380 snaps
Ashton Craig
- 6 starts - 352 snaps
Sullivan Absher- 5 starts - 327 snaps
Styles Prescod- 0 starts - 89 snaps
Christopher Terek- 0 starts - 80 snaps
Matty Augustine
- 0 starts - 55 snaps
Cam Herron- 0 starts - 38 snaps
Devan Houstan- 0 starts - 36 snaps
Will Black
- 0 starts - 27 snaps
Owen Strebig- 0 starts - 1 snap
The starts and snaps listed above refer to the 2025 season only. Notre Dame returns a total of 62 career starts, including 15 starts from Knapp in 2024, six starts from Craig in 2023 and 2024, and two starts from Charles Jagusah in 2023 and 2024.
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2026 EXPECTATIONS
Simply put, Notre Dame is expected to put one of the best group of blockers in the country on the field this season. Notre Dame has been solid up front the last two seasons, but solid isn't the standard at Notre Dame. Dominance is the standard, and we just haven't seen that with any consistency. There have been moments, certainly, and you don't go 24-4 over a two-year stretch and set program records in scoring and yards per play — which the offense did in 2025 — if your offensive line is bad. But there is another level the line can, and must, get to in 2026.
Consistent dominance is the expectation this season. That means being able to be a force in the ground game week after week, especially in the bigger games of the season. With Notre Dame not having Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to fuel the run game, it must now be fueled by the offensive line. That doesn't mean that the backs aren't talented, it just means that instead of the backs making the line look good, which was often the case last season, now it's expected that the line will do the work and the backs will then take advantage of their performance.
It also means being able to consistently give quarterback CJ Carr consistent time to throw the football.
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NEW LOOK LINE
Notre Dame returns five players that started at least five games last season, including four players that finished the season in the starting lineup. There will only be one player, however, who returns at the same position they finished the season. The two starting centers from last season are both coming back at center, but everyone else is moving around.
Junior Anthonie Knappis moving inside to left guard after starting 27 of the last 28 games at left tackle. Redshirt sophomore Guerby Lambertmoves out to right tackle after starting all 12 games last season at right guard. Redshirt junior Sullivan Absherstarted the last five games of the 2025 season at left guard, but he moves over to right guard this season. Redshirt freshman Will Blackgot snaps at left guard and right tackle last season, but he's expected to be the starter at left tackle this season.
None of the moves are necessarily earth shattering, and both Lambert and Absher have taken snaps at the positions they are now playing. Lambert played right tackle in high school and as a freshman, and the only reason he moved to guard was to get the best five on the field last season. With Aamil Wagner off to the NFL it was expected he would move back outside, which he did, so the transition should be smooth. Black was a left tackle in high school, but for some reason Rudolph didn't play him at left tackle last season.
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Knapp's move inside is the only switch where a player is now lined up at a position he hasn't played. A left tackle the last two seasons and in high school, the position switch was new for Knapp, but he took to it quite well and looked natural inside in the spring. Knapp's skillset is perfectly built for the inside, which is why expectations are so high for him this season.
STAR POTENTIAL
Speaking of those expectations, Knapp is the only Irish offensive lineman getting preseason All-America honors. He got off to a brutal start last season, but he quickly got back on track and was quite steady. According to PFF, Knapp gave up four pressures and a sack in the first three games, but he only gave up seven total pressures and zero sacks in the final nine games of the season. He was solid and effective in pass pro in the final nine games, but his run blocking had far more moments of dominance. As a guard he should be even more effective as a pass blocker, but his run blocking should take off. That's why I fully expect Knapp to live up to the preseason hype and turn it into All-America production.
Lambert is not getting the same preseason love, but he has a chance to be a dominant player this season as well. There were stretches last season when Lambert was the team's most dominant run blocker, and that should remain true in 2026. The question is can he be that player more consistently now that he has a season of experience under his belt and now that he's at his more natural right tackle position. He allowed just one sack and nine pressures all season at guard, but tackle is a different animal. But as I've stated, Lambert is a natural tackle and his combination of length, power and athleticism should allow him to be just as good in pass pro at tackle. If Lambert is as good as I think he'll be this season he'll have a chance to get some All-America discussion, and we saw glimpses of that during the spring.
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INJURY QUESTIONS
Notre Dame has two very talented veterans coming back that have major injury questions, and that duo getting back to full health and full strength could make a big difference this season. Center Ashton Craighas started 12 games over the last three seasons, but he's had both his 2024 and 2025 seasons cut short with a knee injury. The expectation is that he'll be fully healthy to start fall camp, but where will his game be? I don't assume that Craig will get back to full strength after a second major knee injury. If he does return to full strength he should be able to pick up where he left off last season, when he was emerging as a difference maker at center. Even if he does return to full strength, there will always be that lingering concern about him going down yet again.
Craig must be considered a question mark heading into the 2026 season, but if he can finally get and stay healthy, the interior of the Irish offensive line could be outstanding. I would think all fans who enjoy line play are looking forward to the same thing I am, and that is Craig and Knapp getting to work combo blocks together in the run game.
There are even bigger injury questions with redshirt junior Charles Jagusah. It's wild to see a player who has started just two games and played in just three meaningful games get so much preseason attention, including All-America honors from Phil Steele. That's how talented Jagusah is, and that's how impressive he looked in the limited opportunities we've seen him play. He's massive, powerful and a quality athlete for his size. If Jagusah returns to health and full strength he'll be extremely hard to keep out of the lineup, and he has the talent to be a dominant blocker. But after a minimum of five surgeries to repair the bone he broke last offseason, it's hard to get too excited about his return until we actually see him on the field, and see him looking like the player we saw in the past.
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If just one of them can accomplish this it would give the line a significant boost. If both Craig and Jagusah return to full strength they could be the difference in the Irish line not only being dominant, but potentially emerging as the best line in the country.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Part of the excitement about the present and future of the line is the talented young players that Rudolph has recruited. Black stepping into the left tackle position has created a lot of buzz and excitement. The former five-star recruit is big (6-7, 316), athletic and extremely talented. He's inexperienced, but if coached properly he should be able to make a pretty smooth transition into the lineup. Black has a chance to become the next Freshman All-American for the Irish, with Knapp earning that honor in 2024 and Lambert earning that honor in 2025.
Black isn't the only talented young player with an opportunity to work his way onto the field this season. Classmate Matty Augustineis listed as the No. 2 right tackle, but he's also poised to be the next man in at multiple spots, including right guard and potentially both left tackle and left guard. Augustine is poised to battle Absher at right guard, and even though the veteran has the edge going into fall camp, he'll need to continue performing well in order to hold Augustine off. If Absher performs well and Augustine doesn't start he still gives the Irish a massive, physical and versatile blocker in the two-deep.
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There are a number of talented young players on the depth chart, and the Irish also landed a big time offensive line class in the 2026 recruiting cycle. I wouldn't be surprised of true freshman Grayson McKeoghis able to quickly work into the two deep. I'm also looking forward to seeing Tyler Merrilland Ben Nicholsfor the first time. They are massive and showed a lot of talent and dominant run blocking skills in high school. Classmate Sullivan Garvinimpressed during the spring at center, and he could quickly work up the depth chart over the next year as well. Redshirt freshman Owen Strebighad a quality spring at tackle, and classmate Cam Herronis also pushing for the backup center job as well.
BIGGEST QUESTIONS
1. Will The Moves Pay Off- The first important question for the line is will all the moves up front pay off. All of them made sense, and an argument could be made that the moves put all the linemen in their most natural spots. If the moves pay off the line could be truly outstanding, but if the players aren't able to make a smooth transition and develop a strong relationship early on the line won't live up to its full potential.
2. Can Joe Rudolph Maximize This Group's Talent- Rudolph has been a solid coach at Notre Dame, but I think it's fair to question if he's shown that he can get the most out of his players. If this unit is going to play to its full potential it will require Rudolph to coach this group up in a way where players take the proper jumps in consistency from an assignment and technique standpoint, and also that the unit show the ability to play with more power and force than we've see in recent seasons. If this OL is the Joe Moore Award winning caliber group it should be, it will require Rudolph to also do a great job coaching.
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3. Can The Unit Stay Healthy - Injuries have been a major problem on the line the last three seasons under Rudolph. I'm not saying he's the reason, just pointing out that it has been a struggle. Notre Dame had season-ending injuries to two starters in 2023, it lost two starters to season-ending injuries in 2024 and another starter missed four games with injury. Last season we saw two more starters go down with season-ending injuries half way through the season. Finally getting a season of good health for the line would be significant.
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