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Notre Dame Football: Jarrett Patterson returning makes Irish OL elite in 2022

By Tyler Kruse

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 23: Jarrett Patterson #55 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish snaps the ball during a game against the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium on November 23, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Boston College 40-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 23: Jarrett Patterson #55 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish snaps the ball during a game against the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium on November 23, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Boston College 40-7. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame football starting center Jarrett Patterson has announced he will return for the Irish in 2022, making this offensive line elite.

The Notre Dame football team has been receiving good news left and right in recent weeks, as they have seen key players snub the 2022 NFL Draft for a chance to come back and win a national title.

Jarrett Patterson, an elite center prospect and anchor for this Notre Dame offensive line will not be entering the 2022 NFL Draft as well, which is major news for the Irish in 2022. It was Patterson’s turn after getting big news from Jayson and Justin Ademilola, DJ Brown, Houston Griffith, Braden Lenzy, and Isaiah Foskey.

It seems the Irish are building something special under Marcus Freeman, and many of the kids seem to agree.

The decision could’ve gone either way. While the center position is occasionally a tough one to figure out, Jarrett was highly rated. According to Mel Kiper of ESPN’s positional rankings, Patterson is ranked the 2nd overall center only behind the touted Tyler Linderbaum of Iowa.

So, while the offensive line unit was shaky to start the season, Patterson certainly wasn’t the culprit.

Notre Dame football gets their leader back along the offensive line

A steady hand at center for the Irish has been crucial with so much uncertainty at the quarterback position. Pairing a new or young quarterback with an inexperienced center could prove disastrous for a team trying to make noise in their head coach’s inaugural season.

The offensive line could be an early contender for the Joe Moore Award, given they’re returning almost everyone upfront. With young standouts Blake Fisher and Joe Alt, not to mention Rocco Spindler waiting in the wings for his time to shine, short- and long-term futures for this unit are bright.

Pair that with what I would call the best offensive line class in the nation in 2022, and you have something special.

It was a massive win for Notre Dame to get Jarrett Patterson to stay, and he will now get to learn even more under new offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, who came back after a four-year hiatus. In his previous stint with the Irish, Hiestand produced several first-round offensive linemen, and Patterson could end up being one, after all, is said and done.

Now we wait and expect great things from the offensive line to open next season in Columbus.

Next. Brandon Joseph Joins Notre Dame. dark

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