Reviewing the Redshirts is an off-season series meant to resurrect discussion around the current Irish freshmen who did not play in 2016.

There were 11 players who retained a year of eligibility this past year and today we look at a blue-chip talent from Ohio ready to make an impact from day one in 2017.

OT, Liam Eichenberg

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Height: 6-5 1/2
Weight: 280

247Sports Composite Ranking:

4-star, No. 7 OT, No. 4 OH, No. 80 USA, 0.960 score

Need at Position: Mild

Projected Spot on 2017 Depth Chart: Primary Backup

Even for Notre Dame’s high standards very few offensive linemen have been rated as highly as Liam Eichenberg. As such, he comes off his redshirt season with very high expectations.

Offensive line is sometimes as much about opportunity as straight talent and the bad news for Eichenberg is that Notre Dame is bringing back 5 out of their top 6 players in snaps from 2016. The good news is that Eichenberg is really talented and it could’ve been 6 out of the top 6 players returning had Colin McGovern not transferred to Virginia for a graduate season.

The immediate future for Liam (and that of classmate Tommy Kraemer, his own RtR coming soon!) has to do with the future of Alex Bars as much as anything. Should Bars move inside to right guard a starting spot at right tackle opens up right away this spring. If Bars remains as the starter at right tackle the future becomes a little more cloudy for Eichenberg.

The Ohio native was a little light as a true freshman but we should expect him to be around 300 pounds even as quickly as this spring. We tend to fret over the size of young linemen only for that worry to evaporate pretty quickly as the pounds are packed on. The more interesting measurement for Eichenberg is his height at 6’5″ 1/2 which makes him tied for the third tallest lineman on the team.

As such, most expect Eichenberg to be a tackle who maybe could play inside at guard. For 2017, I imagine he’ll be in the discussion at right tackle and ultimately settle in as McGlinchey’s heir apparent.

Initially, we didn’t hear much from Eichenberg unlike fellow freshman Kraemer who was described by Kelly as being light years ahead of any freshman lineman he’s ever coached at Notre Dame. That was borne out in fall camp when Kraemer was briefly in the rotation to start at right guard. When the season began, Kraemer stayed with varsity as the backup right tackle while Eichenberg went down to the scout team.

It didn’t take long for Eichenberg to stick out at his position. By early October, he was singled out by Kelly for his performances with the scout team and eventually Eichenberg would begin making the travel squad for away games. We can probably expect Kraemer to have a nice lead over his classmate heading into the spring but Eichenberg may have closed that gap quite a bit from the middle of last season.

Without a larger than usual weight gain it’s difficult to say if Eichenberg will be an option at guard. In the short-term that probably makes him less valuable than Kraemer. If Eichenberg outright wins the right tackle job that won’t even matter, now will it? Still, if Eichenberg doesn’t grab a starting spot for 2017 his goal will have to pivot a bit.

Remember from above, 5 out of the top 6 players return. If Kraemer jumps into the starting lineup we will have to see how Eichenberg battles with Hunter Bivin as the backup tackle who could play on either side. Traditionally, becoming the 6th Man on the line is a very good spot to be, especially as a redshirt freshman. You’re constantly in the mix during practice and you’re always one snap away from getting your break.