Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2017 51 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY BRYAN DRISKELL By the time his career at Wexford (Pa.) North Allegheny ended, offen- sive tackle Joshua Lugg was one of the nation's premier offensive linemen. Lugg finished off his prep career with a dominant performance during the U.S. Army All-American Game in San Antonio Jan. 7. It culminated a meteoric rise for a player who began his football career as a pass catcher. "I started out playing as a wide re- ceiver," said Lugg, who did not take up football until the seventh grade. "I grew a lot vertically, but I was very skinny. In the ninth grade I started put- ting on some weight, so I moved to tight end. "My sophomore year I was a tight end, too, but not so much a pass-catch- ing tight end. I was a blocking tight end." Between the end of his sophomore season and the start of his junior cam- paign, Lugg grew three inches and added about 80 pounds, drawing the notice of major college football pro- grams. "That's when I knew I was done running routes," joked Lugg, who is now listed at 6-6, 280 pounds. His pre-junior year growth spurt and transition to the of- fensive line was a game changer for Lugg. Just two years prior, he had made his first college visit, to Division III pro- gram Grove City. "I always wanted to be a college football player, but I never thought it would be possible until the 10th grade," he said. "I remember sitting at their game and telling my dad, 'It would be pretty sweet to play for Grove City.' "It was pretty crazy how I went from visiting Grove City, a D3 school, and a year or two later I'm at the University of Notre Dame." Lugg attributes his rise to more than just a growth spurt. He credits his fa- ther, Eric, who is a personal trainer that used to work with members of the Pittsburgh Steelers. "There's a lot of guys that go to trainers in the Pittsburgh area, but I never felt I needed to do that because I have a trainer that lives across the hall from me." Lugg said with a laugh. "He's the person that built me into what I am right now. When he comes home from a 12-hour day, we'll have dinner and then he says 'Okay, let's go to the gym,' even though he's been there all day." Lugg's father worked on Josh's body, but it was North Allegheny line coach Mike Buchert that developed his game on the field. Lugg noted that his father and line coach were always on the same page when it came to how to best train him, and the best part for him is that Buchert's coaching style is very similar to Notre Dame line coach Harry Hiestand. "He and Coach Hiestand are exactly the same," Lugg said. "That's the best part. I'm not going to have to make too much of an adaption with my tech- nique because it's the same thing I've done the last two years." ✦ JOSHUA LUGG OFFENSIVE TACKLE 6-6 · 280 NORTH ALLEGHENY H.S. PITTSBURGH RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 236 22 6 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 156 15 5 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 86 13 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 107 12 5 MEASURABLES • At Nike Football The Opening Regional in Chi- cago on May 14, 2016, posted a 5.51 40-yard dash, a 4.89 20-yard shuttle and a vertical jump of 25.1 inches. STATISTICS • As a senior, helped pave the way for the Wexford (Pa.) North Allegheny offense to rush for 3,303 yards and 50 touchdowns plus score 34.9 points per game en route to a 9-3 record. Also recorded 18 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks on defense. • During his junior season, North Allegheny rushed for 260.3 yards and notched 373.0 yards of total offense per game. HONORS • Named to the 2016 All-USA Pennsylvania first- team offense by USA Today. • Selected to the Pennsylvania Football Writers' Class 6A All-State team. • Picked to the PAFootballNews.com all-classifi- cation all-state team and Class 6A all-state squad. • Named to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 and to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25. • Earned the inaugural Mr. PA Football Lineman Award for the Big School Class 4A-6A. • Was a 2016 All-EPA/WPA All-State Super 25 Class 6A Team selection. • Selected to the 2016 Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Class 6A Northern Seven first team. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 7 in San Antonio. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Notre Dame on Aug. 14, 2015, over offers from Penn State, UCLA, Pittsburgh, Ten- nessee, UCLA and Wisconsin, among others. • An offer from Alabama wasn't enough to sway him from his pledge to the Irish during the process. • Visited campus unofficially for the Michigan State (Sept. 17) and Stanford (Oct. 15) games dur- ing the season, and took his official visit over the weekend of Notre Dame's Echoes Awards banquet (Dec. 9-11). • Primarily recruited by offensive line coach Harry Hiestand. NOTABLE • Born June 3, 1999. • The 17-year-old was originally supposed to be part of the 2018 class, but reclassified to 2017. 2017 PROJECTION • Lugg's youth and Notre Dame's desire to red- shirt linemen will likely result in him preserving a year of eligibility. THEY SAID IT Offensive coordinator Chip Long: "I see a very imposing player. … He has that length to really be an animal in the run game then be able to take any pass rusher the game brings along the way. When you have that length, and you can keep the defender from getting up into your body you're going to win." Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand: "Josh Lugg is coachable and wants to be great. The first thing you'll notice about him is his size. He's a big man. He's also a level of maturity for a younger senior in high school." BGI football analyst Bryan Driskell: "Lugg is a year younger than most players in his class, and he's just starting to fill out his massive frame. Despite his youth, he proved as a senior he is one of the nation's top offensive tackles. He is a long, powerful, quality athlete, and those traits will al- low him to stick on the edge in college. "Lugg is still learning to play with consistent technique, but his raw tools are as good as any offensive lineman Notre Dame has signed since Brian Kelly arrived." Joshua Lugg Took A Unique Path To The Top Rivals rates Lugg as the No. 22 offensive tackle in the nation. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM