The top recruit is building a crucial routine, learning from veteran leaders, and focusing on absorbing knowledge for his freshman year at Notre Dame.
When you're the highest rated offensive lineman in the No. 1 recruiting class in the country according to On3 and your destination is a program that's considered to be 'O-Line U', the expectations might be pretty high. For Pennsylvania native Grayson McKeogh, developing a sound routine in the transition from high school to college has been a major part of his development so far in the 2026 offseason.
"The biggest adjustment has just been developing my routine," McKeogh explained. "I’m a big routine guy; in high school I woke up at the same time, ate the same thing for breakfast, school and then practice. It was the same thing every day. I like to get in that routine because it keeps my day going in like a flow. Coming here, just building that routine, being able to stick to that schedule and figure everything out really helped."
The 6-7, 294-pound offensive tackle didn't wait long to get into the mix with some of the older offensive lineman in the room. He's already been going through various offensive line workouts, outside of the team winter workouts, and has benefitted from the veteran leadership in the room.
"They’ve been great and really open," McKeogh said. "If you need anything, ask questions and that's how they operate. I’ve definitely tried to take advantage of that talking to whoever I can because they’ve been through it and they were in my position once. Whatever advice and wisdom I can get out of them, I’m going to try to get it. But, like I said, they’ve been great; very patient. I'm taking things day by day and it's just been a lot of fun."
Because of the culture in the offensive line room, it hasn't just been one individual player that's taken McKeogh under their wing. Rather, it's been a host of players who are looking out for the early-enrollee true freshman. That bond will help with development as the offseason progresses into the regular season.
"A couple of the older guys like Anthonie Knapp has a lot of tackle experience," McKeogh answered when asked who's helped him since he arrived on campus. "Just hearing what he has to say definitely puts a spot in my head. Matty Augustine has been a lot of help with drills and stuff like that. Guerby Lambert has been a big resource along with Devan Houstan. I could just go on. They’ve all been a big help."
With the amount and level of talent in the room, barring injury, it's unlikely we see McKeogh in any big-time moments this season, but he has the talent and the potential to get there relatively quickly in his Notre Dame career. For the Pennsylvania native, year one is about growth now that he has his routine down pat.
"Learn whatever I can," McKeogh said when asked what he hopes to accomplish this year. "There's a lot of advice and a lot of wisdom going around. I'm just taking it day by day and doing whatever I can to help the team, whether it’s on the O-line, special teams or even if it’s on the scout team; whatever I can do to help. Just building that foundation for myself and it will help."
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