Notre Dame football: Liam Eichenberg deserves the Outland Trophy
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team has one of the best offensive lines in college football, and star left tackle Liam Eichenberg deserves to win the Outland Trophy.
The Notre Dame football team dominated the college football landscape during the regular season, posting a perfect 10-0 record during the 2020 campaign. The Irish were led by the strong play of quarterback Ian Book, who had plenty of Heisman Trophy moments while becoming the all-time winningest quarterback in school history.
Of course, a quarterback is only as good as his linemen, and in left tackle Liam Eichenberg, he may have the best left tackle in college football. Of course, Oregon’s Penei Sewell is likely to go top-5 next year in the 2021 NFL Draft, but Eichenberg is the kind of guy who can step in and start at the NFL level right now, making him an exciting prospect as well.
On Tuesday, Eichenberg was named a finalist for the Outland Trophy, an award he deserves to win.
Top lineman on arguably the top offensive line in the country
The competition for the award is tough, as Eichenberg is joined by Alabama left tackle Alex Leatherwood and Iowa defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon. To be honored as a finalist is an incredible accomplishment in itself, as it not only includes offensive linemen but also defensive linemen, as evident by Nixon being a finalist.
For Eichenberg, he has been the epitome of consistency for Notre Dame, starting the last 37 games for the Irish. The anchor of an elite offensive line, Eichenberg would be only the fourth player in Notre Dame history to win the award and the first to take home the honor since Ross Browner in 1976.
Eichenberg has already been named First Team All-ACC, and the recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
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Of course, the biggest game of Eichenberg’s career looms on New Years Day, where he will lead this Irish offensive line in a tough matchup against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame had a very tough time with the Clemson Tigers in the ACC Championship Game, so hopefully, they can get healthy, and ready to make a statement in ten days.