Notre Dame football: Key two-deep battles to watch for 2021

Notre Dame football: Key two-deep battles to watch for 2021

The Backup Left Tackle

Brian Kelly’s run of success at Notre Dame has had a ton to do with their success on the offensive line. In particular, Kelly has had a dominant left tackle. Liam Eichenberg, who was an early second-round draft pick that is already working with the Miami Dolphins’ first team, was the first Notre Dame left tackle under Kelly not to be taken in the first round.

Now, the Irish need to find a new starting tackle, and so far, it looks like that starting tackle is going to be a true freshman in Blake Fisher.

The question then, is who is going to back Fisher up?

There are a couple of key reasons to worry about this spot. For one, there is always the clear chance of injury, and given the importance of the left tackle position, relying on a backup could become vital to an offense’s success. Then there is the question of whether Blake Fisher can handle the starting job so early.

Is he going to be refined enough? Will he be strong enough? These are questions that can only be answered in time. If Fisher can’t answer in the affirmative, Notre Dame football may need to turn to his backup.

That backup battle is going to be intriguing. As of now, Michael Carmody, an academic sophomore, is the likely backup, but there is also some thought that Jarrett Patterson could kick out to left tackle if necessary, but you would definitely rather see him stay at his natural position, instead of creating an imbalance in the interior.

So, it looks like Carmody is the backup, but he only saw some action in one game last season, and he’s unproven and could have similar issues to Fisher. So, where is the competition coming from? Tosh Baker, who has a bit more experience, is likely to compete to backup both tackles and will be the biggest push to Carmody on the roster.