Notre Dame football kicks off week two of fall camp

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind-- The Irish seeking their identity at the line of scrimmage as they inch closer to week one.

Since Head Coach Marcus Freeman took over the football program, his philosophy has been that the game starts at the line of scrimmage.

This year, Freeman has a new offensive line coach, Joe Rudolph, in charge of keeping the o-line up to par.

"Great teams to me have always started with the guys up front in the offensive defensive lines," Rudolph said.

After one year with Virginia Tech, as the run game coordinator and offensive line coach, Rudolph comes into Notre Dame, replacing Harry Heistand.

"They are very similar coaching styles," said junior offensive coordinator Joe Alt. "I think with Coach Rudolph, it's been a lot more use of hands in the run game. It's something that I've tried to take to my game and work with."

Similar coaching styles, but at the same time, some things are just a tad different according to third year offensive lineman Blake Fisher. 

"Coach Heistand is more, you know, aggressive, you know, maybe just a little, you know, more uptight, more up tense. Coach Rudolph, you know, just is not, you know, a lot of yelling all the time and not like frustration, I guess," Fisher said jokingly. 

Whether it’s a soft or an aggressive approach, the mentality is the same, with Joe Alt, Blake Fisher, and Zeke Correll returning to line of scrimmage for o-line university.  

"First thing I do want to get the line is, I identify the defense make sure I'm getting my calls in, get it down the line. So, everyone knows what they're doing and starts with me, guards, and tackles, inside out," Correll added. 

"Us starting to play and us bringing the energy and the juice and the dominant force, to the offense is the standard here," Fisher said. 

With the leadership of Alt, Fisher, and Correll Rudolph needs to fill the gaps of Jared Patterson and Josh Lugg, who left the team to pursue careers in the NFL.