Will Black's emergence reshapes Notre Dame's offensive line, promising size, athleticism, and a potentially dominant tackle duo for 2026.
Notre Dame will have a much different looking offensive line in 2026, and the potential lineup has a lot of potential, but also plenty of questions. Offensive lines thrive on continuity, and when the Irish take the field in 2026 they will have a total of one starting offensive lineman who will be playing the same position he did in 2025. That player - center Ashton Craig - missed half of last season with a knee injury.
Despite this uncertainty, the new look Notre Dame offensive line has raised expectations for the Irish offense in 2026. It's a talented group whose players are in positions they are better suited to play. The unit will be bigger and more athletic than what we saw the last two seasons. A big reason for this reality is the emergence of redshirt freshman Will Black, who began the spring as the team's starting left tackle.
There's no player in the 2025 class that enters the season with more expectations than Black. He arrived at Notre Dame with incredible fanfare, earning a 5.0-star grade on the Irish Breakdown class ranking, and also a five-star grade by On3 and Rivals. At 6-7 and 315 pounds, Black has much better size at the position than the tackle starters the last two seasons. Notre Dame's starting tackles averaged 6-5 and 300 pounds last season, and that duo of Anthonie Knapp and Aamil Wagner averaged just 292.5 pounds in 2024.
With Black and Guerby Lambert expected to take over at tackle in 2026, Notre Dame will have far greater size and length on the edge, and a strong case could be made they will be even more athletic than recent tackle duos. The Black-Lambert duo will give the Irish a tackle tandem that averaged 6-7 and 320.5 pounds. It's not just about size, this is also an extremely talented pair. Lambert was impressive as a guard last season, but he's even more natural at tackle. His move outside was expected, but there were questions about whether or not the staff would be convinced to move Knapp inside after he proved himself to be such a steady player the last two seasons.
Knapp did a lot of good things the last two seasons, but it was always clear that his game was better suited for the interior. The challenge for offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is that Knapp was good enough on the edge that simply moving him inside because he is better suited there would not work. You need certainty at left tackle, and whatever you feel about Knapp as a left tackle, the reality is his play was good enough that you couldn't move him inside unless someone forced your hand.
Black appears to have done that.
Black has the length, athleticism and instincts to thrive on the edge in pass pro. He was also a highly effective run blocker at the prep level and that should continue as he continues adding strength. He has all the tools you want in a high level left tackle: length, size, athleticism and a comfort with playing in space. Knapp had the athleticism, but he lacked the other traits. Black stepping into the starting lineup would give Notre Dame a more "true" left tackle, and one with loads of talent. Black will need to learn to be consistent, which is true for all first year starters, but if he can settle in the left tackle position should be a strength for the Irish offense.
That's just one of the ways this move has a massive impact for Notre Dame. Being able to move Knapp inside is huge for Notre Dame. It puts Knapp into a position where his game is better suited, which means a far greater chance that he plays to his full potential. He did a lot of good things the last two seasons, especially in the run game. Knapp is athletic and surprisingly powerful when you consider his size. As a guard, Knapp will be able to play in tighter quarters, use his power to his advantage to a far greater degree, and he should be even better in pass pro. I might look bad for saying this when we get to the end of the season, but if Knapp can quickly get comfortable at guard he could be an All-American blocker for the Irish.
Notre Dame's best lineman last season was Billy Schrauth, who was an elite pass blocker that had the best run blocking season of his career in 2025 prior to his knee injury. It was going to be hard for any of the current guards to play up to his level, even with his season being shortened. Knapp is the kind of player who can certainly fill that void, if not play at an even higher level than Schrauth. Knapp has certainly been more reliable, having missed just one of the last 28 games, while Schrauth lost nine games to injuries the last two seasons.
If both of the positive expectations come to fruition, Notre Dame would have an even stronger left side in 2026. It could be their best left side combo since Liam Eichenberg and Aaron Banks both earned All-America honors back in 2020. If that happens the Irish offense could get the kind of elite offensive line play it needs to have a championship caliber scoring unit in 2026.
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