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Link: Questions Linger For Notre Dame Offensive & Defensive Lines
Elston knows his guys and visa versa.
We are 2 deep with experience. There is good competition for playing time with new talent coming in. 1T concerns me a bit though. Bonner and Hinish are not enough in my mind. I am a bit concerned there. Someone from the Ewell, MDT and Franklin group needs to emerge. Need more size and strength there.
Losing 2 AA types at LT and LG is tough. It is college football. Every year you lose a starter or two. I think the OL will be from left to right Liam, Kraemer, Sam, Bars and Hainsey. Liam is the only newby but I think he is a true LT because of mobility. Kraemer should excel at LG. The right side of the line should be really strong. Lugg, Banks and Ruhland should be the backups that will step into starter roles next year when we lose Sam and Bars.
The big question mark is Quinn. Can he become a quality OL coach again like he was before he left for Buffalo. Will he work well with Long?
the problem on the OL is two fold. First, I think Quinn will be a good OL coach, I don't think you lose your ability to coach just from having done something different for a few years and, unlike anyone else that would have been in consideration, he is already very familiar with the scheme, culture and players. The issue to me isn't whether he will be good, it's whether he can be great, because that's what he's replacing. The second issue is replacing 2 top players. Yes, it's college football and you always have to reload, but replacing two likely first round draft picks isn't the same as replacing two above average guys that get draft in the middle rounds. There is enough talent to do it, but having the talent isn't the same as having the production.
On the other side, I agree that a potential weak spot is at the 1 spot. Bonner and Hinish both look like pretty good players, but I think both are undersized for that spot. Likely a deep rotation so that whoever's in there is fresh and ready to go full speed is the best solution, which means your thoughts about needing at least one more contributor in that rotation is needed. Even then there is no guarantee it's a great result, but at least it would give us a chance.
Mustipher is a little overrated. Hopefully he proves me wrong. At least last year he had no snaps over anybody's head. I think his snap needs to be a little more consistent and he has to be ready a little better than he is once he snaps.