Notre Dame football: Irish set at OT for at least the next two seasons
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team saw the rise of freshman Joe Alt at left tackle in 2021, setting the stage for the Irish to have young bookends in 2022 and 2023 at least.
Heading into the 2021 college football season, the Notre Dame football team was supposed to have a promising true freshman at the left tackle position. Blake Fisher was pretty much handed the left tackle job from the second he stepped foot on campus, but unfortunately, his run would be short-lived.
In the season opener against Florida State, Fisher went down with an injury, and it did end up being a season-ending one. With Fisher out, the Irish had a revolving door at left tackle, but that was until they turned to Joe Alt, a converted tight end, and true freshman himself, to man the job.
Alt did more than just hold the spot, he was outstanding, and a big reason why the Irish finished as well as they did.
In fact, Alt played so well in 2021 that he was the only member of the Notre Dame football team named to 247Sports end-of-year All-American team. It was an incredible honor for a player who did not crack the starting lineup until the Virginia Tech game, but also for a player who became an anchor on the revamped offensive line for the impressive stretch run.
Notre Dame football set at OT for 2022 and 2023
Going into the 2022 campaign, Fisher will return, and likely take back his left tackle spot, with Alt moving to the right side. With both players locked in for the season opener against Ohio State, you would have to think that the Notre Dame football team would go into the season with arguably the best tackle duo in the country.
Not only will they be in the starting lineup for next season, but due to the fact they are both true freshmen, they will have to play for the Irish in 2023. Notre Dame has some tremendous playmakers returning next season, especially at quarterback in Tyler Buchner, and he and the rest of the weapons will have the luxury of playing behind an offensive line led by two outstanding tackles.