Notre Dame Football: O-Line Needs to Build on Music City Bowl Dominance

Where was that offensive line all season? 

In the wake of Notre Dame's stunning 31-28 victory over LSU in the Music City Bowl, you're not alone if you're wondering what got into Harry Hiestand's offensive line. After struggling with consistency all season, the front five put together its best performance of the season against the SEC's top-rated defense. 

With a game plan that demanded the Irish control the football—and therefore the line of scrimmage—Brian Kelly went all-in on his O-line. And the group delivered, powering an Irish ground game that went for 263 yards and a passing attack that didn't allow a sack. 

Now comes the important part.

After finally finding its identity in the season finale, the offensive line needs to build on its dominant performance against LSU and become the driving force of the 2015 offensive attack. 

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First, the Irish need to get a little bit lucky. After a strong finish to his season, left tackle Ronnie Stanley looks like a potentially high draft choice. B/R's own Matt Miller has Stanley going No. 11 to the Minnesota Vikings in his most recent mock draft. But Stanley didn't receive a first-round grade from the NFL's advisory board and has yet to decide on what he'll do. 

Bringing Stanley back would be undoubtedly huge. But if he decides to head to the NFL, it appears his heir apparent is freshman Alex Bars. A highly touted recruit who is redshirting this season, Kelly raved about Bars during bowl practice, calling him among the best offensive line prospects he's seen in his 25 years of coaching. 

At right tackle, Mike McGlinchey impressed during his first start of the season. At nearly 6'8", McGlinchey has the size and athleticism coaches covet and will bring an impressive blend of power and length to the line with Christian Lombard having graduated. 

From there, figuring out the interior of the offensive line is crucial.

An early-season shuffle swapped Nick Martin from center to guard, with Matt Hegarty taking over snapping duties. They're both slated to return for their fifth years. Meanwhile, sophomore Steve Elmer began 2014 at right tackle but shifted inside, with Lombard moving outside. These three will likely start in 2015, but center might still be up for grabs. 

After a slow start to the season, Elmer found his comfort zone at guard, using his impressive size and strength to his advantage without having to worry about playing in space at tackle. Keeping Elmer in one position all season should put the 6'5.5", 315-pounder back on the trajectory that had Kelly and Hiestand so excited after his freshman season. 

Depth behind the starting five shouldn't be a problem. Freshman Quenton Nelson looks ready to make a move, with the coaching staff working him inside at guard. While Hunter Bivin wasn't dressed for the LSU game because of an undisclosed injury, he'll battle this spring to be in the two-deep at tackle. Talented young players John Montelus and Colin McGovern also will get extended looks. 

Perhaps the best part of the offensive line's impressive performance against LSU is the potential to establish an offensive identity. With both Malik Zaire and Tarean Folston getting more than 20 carries, the Irish went out and won a football game relying on the power game. That's music to the ears of an offensive line that doesn't need to identify blitzers coming from everywhere on the pass rush; it can simply dictate terms with its size and strength advantage. 

That happened against Florida State, when Kelly leaned on the ground game to keep the ball away from Jameis Winston. And after seeing a two-quarterback platoon work effectively against the Tigers, it's a formula that Kelly needs to consider moving forward, eliminating the razor-thin margin for error that a pass-heavy game plan puts on his quarterbacks. 

After proving it could serve as the engine that moves the offense against LSU, the offensive line will be the key to 2015. With sky-high expectations and more skill talent than we've seen in South Bend in decades, it'll be on the guys up front to deliver.