Notre Dame Football: Harry Hiestand Continues to Roll on Recruiting Trail

When you close your eyes and think of the best recruiters in college football, you don't imagine Harry Hiestand. Yet, Notre Dame's offensive line coach continues to be one of the best on the trail, reeling in top 2017 offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons over the weekend.

Beating out a program like Ohio State for Gibbons is monumental. The young prospect spoke to Hiestand's reputation as an offensive line coach when he gave Brian Kelly his commitment just days after leaving campus and being offered.

"He's the best offensive line coach in all of college football," Gibbons told Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune (via ND Insider). "Whatever he says, I'm going to take to heart."

He's also turned into the most unlikely top recruiter in all of the country. He's a 56-year-old, 30-plus-year veteran of the coaching ranks whose old-school approach puts conventional recruiting wisdom on its head.

Today's best recruiters are a constant on Twitter. Hiestand has an account, but he hasn't tweeted anything yet. Top recruiters are glued to their phones and love sending messages through Facebook. Hiestand's Facebook profile exists—it's just stuck at 26 friends and hasn't been updated since he was a coach at Tennessee four years ago.

In hiring Hiestand after the 2011 season, Kelly reached outside of his coaching circle to pluck Hiestand away from the Volunteers. And the kind words Kelly spoke directly after Hiestand was hired now sound closer to reality than your standard press release stump speech.

"Harry is one of the best offensive line coaches in college football, and we are fortunate to have him on our staff," Kelly said then. "When I was searching to fill this position, I asked some of the most respected offensive line coaches in football whom they would recommend and Harry's name was routinely mentioned as one of the best. His history of developing NFL-caliber offensive linemen speaks for itself, and I know our linemen will learn a lot from him."

We've already seen Hiestand's work with Zack Martin, who was an All-Pro in his rookie season with the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. Adding third-round choice Chris Watt to the pro ranks, Hiestand could've had another first-rounder on his hands had Ronnie Stanley decided to leave for the NFL this offseason.

That track record should pay off as the Irish look to reload their offensive line in the 2016 recruiting cycle. After taking just two offensive linemen in the 2015 class (Jerry Tillery's switch to the defensive line robbed Hiestand of another blue-chip tackle prospect), Hiestand is looking to add to current 5-star commit Tommy Kraemer, an Ohio native who chose the Irish over Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Chief among that group is Cleveland native Liam Eichenberg. The 4-star tackle prospect will be difficult to get out of Ohio, but the Irish coaching staff has had plenty of success at St. Ignatius (Eichenberg's high school) in the past—current redshirt freshman Jimmy Byrne played there, as did former linebacker Dan Fox.

Hiestand is also trying to find further talent at John Curtis High School, the New Orleans powerhouse where the Irish just landed pass-rusher Bo Wallace. Pulling Willie Allen away from LSU or Alabama might be a long shot, but at this point why would anybody question if Hiestand is able to do it?

One thing that'll only help Hiestand's reputation as a recruiter is a dominant 2015. Stanley's return, along with the presence of Music City Bowl starters Nick Martin, Steve Elmer and Mike McGlinchey, have the Irish primed for a dominant season up front (the entire offensive line would've returned had Matt Hegarty decided not to transfer).

After making it to the BCS title game in 2012 with an offensive line that was undersized, Hiestand quickly changed the profile of Notre Dame's O-line. Entering 2015, they'll have bookend tackles—Stanley is 6'5 ½", McGlinchey stands 6'7 ½". Nick Martin is the shortest starter, listed at 6'4 ½", while guards Steve Elmer, Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars all have the size and were originally projected to be offensive tackles.

Hiestand came to Notre Dame in large part because Ed Warinner was passed up internally for the offensive coordinator position. And while the Irish staff has seen attrition—both Tony Alford and Kerry Cooks moved on this offseason with hopes of moving up the ladder—Hiestand is more than comfortable coaching the players in the trenches.

That's good news for Notre Dame and the offensive line, as Hiestand continues to show he's one of the best in the business.

Recruit rankings courtesy of 247Sports.