In today's episode of the Irish Breakdown podcast, we continue our 'State of the Program' series with a great discussion around the offensive line. This is a big year for offensive line coach Joe Rudolph. He's proven himself on the recruiting trail, but has yet to put together a truly elite offensive line. Thankfully, due to the adjustments we saw in the spring, we believe this unit will live up to expectations. There's NFL-talent across the board in the trenches but they'll need to continue developing as a unit if this offense, and team, wishes to reach it's full potential. 

Following our discussion and breakdown of the offensive line, we wrapped everything up with a daily mailbag. 

Part 1 - Ends 0:52:32

We discuss what we learned from Notre Dame's offensive line after the spring. It was confirmed that Anthonie Knapp had the highest ceiling inside at guard, Will Black has elite potential at left tackle, Guerby Lambert is poised to breakout in 2026 and Sullivan Absher took a massive step forward this spring. This offensive line could be one of the best in the country this fall, but they'll have to continue to grow as a unit. The depth has developed well, now it's about remaining healthy and how high the ceiling truly is. 

Part 2 - Ends 1:30:07

There's a world where the offensive line in 2026, outside of Black at left tackle, looks completely different depending on who all leaves. In part two, we discuss the outlook on the immediate future of the offensive line. The freshman class has showed flashes this spring and will get some reinforcements this summer with Tyler Merrill, Ben Nichols and Gregory Patrick all available. 

Part 3 - Ends 2:07:52

Rudolph is a proven recruiter, and one thing we're confident in is his abilities to field a talented roster. In part three, we dive into how things look on the recruiting trail. Talented, five-star 2027 offensive lineman Olu Olubobola makes his decision tomorrow between Notre Dame, Miami and Texas A&M. We also talk through who's currently in the class and who they're looking to add. 

Part 4 - Remainder Of The Show

We wrapped everything up with a daily mailbag where we answer questions around the offensive line from out daily listeners. During these themed mailbags, we keep the questions specific to the offensive line whether that's about past, present of future offensive lineman at Notre Dame. We also answered questions about other offensive lines nationally. 

Let us know what you think of today's show! We'd love your feedback and your thoughts on Notre Dame's offensive line, how things look for the future and down the road.