Reporting out of Notre Dame about lack of progress on offensive front should have Irish fans quaking in their boots ahead of facing Texas A&M football's DL
A clear advantage is forming for Texas A&M football ahead of their long-awaited matchup with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on August 31. The season opener for the Aggies is one of the most highly-anticipated games of week one, and one of the premier nonconference matchups of the entire college football calendar.
The Irish have, in recent memory, been well-known for their quality along the offensive front. Whether it's well-worn NFL vets like Zack Martin or newcomers like Joe Alt, South Bend just seems to produce high-level OL talent and put them right in the league.
However, this area—which has been such a strength for the Irish—may be presenting a concern for fans ahead of the matchup with Texas A&M football. We've already covered that standout tackle Charles Jagusah went down with injury a couple of weeks ago, leaving the Irish without really any experience of note at the tackle spot.
Even so, there was a possibility that the Irish would bounce right back with a next-man-up mentality. To date, though, things have apparently not gone very smoothly in that department.
Marcus Freeman says he knows at some point Notre Dame needs to say, "These are our five offensive linemen that we're going to start against Texas A&M."
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) August 17, 2024
The Irish are not yet at that point.
Things are still getting shuffled around for the Irish, now only two weeks out from stepping onto Kyle Field to match up with Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, David Hicks, and Shemar Turner. Even with a highly-experienced unit, that would be an intimidating ask; with such a green cast of characters as the Irish seem that they will be trotting out, things could get hairy pretty quickly.
This worry for the Irish is compounded by the fact that Riley Leonard, though a highly-touted transfer, is still yet a transfer; not only that, but one that missed much of the spring. It'll be quite the tall task for Leonard to get acclimated with pressure in his face like he will be facing—from the Aggie crowd, Mike Elko's defensive scheme, and the aformentioned A&M DL all alike.
This could be a story of the game if things continue apace. I'd expect new OC Mike Denbrock to be cooking up some quick-hitting passes and screens for his new QB—and I similarly expect Elko and Bateman to be ready to counter. I have a feeling that before the game is out, the DL for Texas A&M football will have made a huge impact on things.