Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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offensive line Striking A Balance The productive left side of the line might have less of a burden in 2013 By Lou Somogyi ast year, Notre Dame's offense gave new meaning to the football term "unbalanced line." The left side featured a seasoned senior duo with tackle Zack Martin and guard Chris Watt, who entered the campaign with a combined 39 career starts. Meanwhile, on the right side, neither tackle Christian Lombard nor guard Mike Golic Jr. had any career starts at their positions (although Golic did start four games at center in 2011). Therefore, head coach Brian Kelly remained true to his Democratic roots by "leaning to the left" when it came to game planning his offense. With Martin and Watt sharing an exceptional combination of execution and chemistry, and a pair of savvy senior running backs in Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood combining for 1,659 yards rushing, Notre Dame's ground game gained 189.4 yards per game. That was its best output since the 213.5 average in then-head coach Bob Davie's BCS season in 2000. Especially notable was its improvement against more physical teams. In 2011, the Fighting Irish totaled only 41 and 57 yards rushing in losses to USC and Stanford. Last year those figures improved to 222 and 150, respectively, in Notre Dame victories. The Irish also rushed for 270 yards against BYU — which finished No. 2 nationally against the run (86.9 yards allowed per game) — and ran for 215 yards the following week in a victory at Oklahoma. With new quarterback Everett Golson getting gradually broken into a relatively conservative passing attack, the Irish leaned on the rushing game — specifically the left side — to carry a preponderance of the load. L Quick Facts Position Coach: Harry Hiestand (2nd year at Notre Dame) Returning Starters: RT Christian Lombard (13 career starts), LT Zack Martin (39) and LG Chris Watt (26) Departing Starters: C Braxston Cave (35) and RG Mike Golic Jr. (17) Projected New Starters: RG Conor Hanratty and C Nick Martin Top Reserves: C Matt Hegarty and T/G Ronnie Stanley Waiting His Turn: RG/C Mark Harrell and LG Bruce Heggie Newcomers: G/T Hunter Bivin, RT Steve Elmer, T Mike McGlinchey, G Colin McGovern and C John Montelus Moved In: None Other Departures: None FYI: Zack Martin was named a second-team All-American by Lindy's College Football 2013 Preview, which had him ranked the fourth-best offensive tackle in the nation, behind Michigan's Taylor Lewan, Texas A&M's Jake Matthews and North Carolina's James Hurst. Martin was selected third-team All-American by Athlon Sports 2013 College Football Preview, and he also was a third-team All-American according to Phil Steele's 2013 College Football Preview, which ranked him as the nation's seventh-best tackle … Watt was selected the 14th-best guard nationally by Phil Steele's … Lindy's ranked Notre Dame's five-man freshman haul as the third-best incoming offensive line group, behind only Michigan and UCLA. Elmer was rated No. 60 and Montelus No. 74 among its top 100 recruits at any position in 2013 … Athlon had Elmer 97th among its top 100 players and rated each of the five Fighting Irish rookies among its top 30 freshmen offensive linemen: Elmer (11th), Bivin (12th) Montelus (13th), McGlinchey (20th) and McGovern (25th). Fifth-year senior left guard Chris Watt has started each of the last 26 games after taking over the job at the beginning of the 2011 season. photo by bill panzica Despite the return of Martin and Watt for their fifth and final season of eligibility in 2013, Fighting Irish offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Chuck Martin is projecting a little better balance to the offensive attack — not necessarily in run/pass figures but in overall acumen and diversity. One reason is the continued development of the massive 6‑5, 322-pound Lombard at right tackle. "We're hoping to run a little to the right this year," said Martin, no relation to Zack. "I really would be disappointed if it was as unbalanced as it was a year ago. We're going to be more physical on that side of the ball — on the right side — and we're going to have more opportunities to run right. "If you want to lay your head on the pillow at night with a big play late in the game, we'd all be pretty foolish not to try to run behind Zack and Watt, but I think we'll definitely be more balanced as far as right and left in the run game." A second reason is this is offensive line coach Harry Hiestand's second year with the program. This spring, the starting offensive line was appreciably ahead of last year's pace when Hiestand introduced a little heavier emphasis of zone blocking over gap blocking to a unit with a brand new right side and a center (fifth-year senior Braxston Cave) who was unable to participate while recovering from a 2012 injury. "The adjustments we're making fundamentally are way less than what we were doing this time last year," Hiestand said. "They have a better understanding of it and a better ability to do it. We should be able to tie those pieces together a little better than last year." Zack Martin said Hiestand played a significant role on why he didn't turn pro when he might have been taken in the top three rounds. "He's taken my game to a new level, and I know another year with him will be even better," Martin said last December when he revealed he would return in 2013. "He's everything I've ever wanted in an offensive line coach. He pushes you on the field; he's a technician. … He's taught us what it means to work, and off the field he's somebody you can sit down and talk to and go have dinner with." Martin easily graded out the best and most consistently among the Fighting Irish offensive linemen the past three seasons, and Hiestand — a 30-year veteran of coaching offensive linemen, including the Chicago Bears from 2005-09 — would place him favorably with anyone in the country at his position. "He does everything — power plays, runs inside zone, outside zone," Hiestand said. "He's a physical presence on the left side in the running game, and he's an excellent pass protector." 68 ✦ Blue & Gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview 68-72.OLs.indd 68 6/25/13 1:31 PM