Notre Dame could need two new starting offensive tackles after this season, particularly if current left tackle Joe Alt and current right tackle Blake Fisher can stonewall Ohio Star star end J.T. Tuimoloau and his counterpart Jack Sawyer on Saturday when the No. 6 Buckeyes (3-0) visit the No. 9 Irish (4-0) at 7:30 ET on NBC.
Nearly every reputable mock draft considers Alt to be an early first-round draft pick, and if Fisher continues to help pave the way for Notre Dame’s ground game, he could be close behind Alt.
It is rather unlikely consensus four-star offensive tackle Guerby Lambert (Catholic Memorial High School; Roxbury, Mass.) would replace either of those starters next year, but it is at least now a possibility after his Tuesday night commitment to the Irish class of 2024, the fourth offensive lineman in the class and arguably the first offensive tackle.
The No. 63 overall player in the class, per rivals.com, and No. 4 offensive tackle, Lambert chose Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, Michigan, Penn State and nearly every other blue blood east of the Mississippi River and instead of finalists Ohio State, Boston College and Harvard.
That may seem a curious list of finalists, but it should underscore how strong the Irish position long was in this recruitment for the 6-foot-7, 300-pound lineman. The level of competition in Massachusetts high school football leaves some measure of evaluation vague, but Lambert is a proven winner, if absolutely nothing else. His high school team entered this season on a 24-game winning streak with back-to-back state championships.
There is something else, though. Lambert is more than quick enough to handle Massachusetts high school defensive ends; only time will tell if he is also quick enough off the snap to stymie collegiate defensive ends. He has plenty of power already; no defensive end will successfully bull-rush Lambert anytime soon. And he is an active blocker, something not always seen from high-school linemen.
All in all, Lambert may be more a massive block of marble than a carved statue, a reality simply given the level of competition he is facing currently. Which is to say, the thought of starting in 2024 in place of Alt or Fisher was one designed mostly to mention Ohio State this week and remind folks of the actual football coming, to not get too lost in recruiting.
Perhaps it is Lambert’s No. 78, maybe it is that the footwork necessitated by a successful shot-putter is akin to the ballet known by a post player on a basketball court, or maybe it is that Lambert claims to stand 6-foot-7, but something about watching him elicits thoughts of Ronnie Stanley, who wore No. 78, was renowned as a quality basketball player and also had a recruiting profile listing of 6-foot-7, even if Notre Dame’s roster eventually marked him at 6-foot-5.
Lambert is actually a higher-considered recruit than Stanley was, an eventual three-season starter in South Bend before being drafted with the No. 6 overall pick in 2016.
Lambert joins four-star guard Peter Jones (Malvern Prep; Penn.), three-star lineman Anthonie Knapp (Roswell H.S.; Ga.) and three-star lineman Styles Prescod (Hamilton Southeastern; Fishers, Ind.) as the linemen grouping in this class, bringing the total prospect count in Notre Dame’s class of 2024 to 23 players, a class ranked No. 4 in the country, per rivals.com, behind only Georgia, Ohio State and Florida.
COMMITTED! #GoIrish @Hayesfawcett3 @NDFootball pic.twitter.com/m31qlZ2l8q
— Guerby Lambert (@GuerbyLambert) September 20, 2023
Notre Dame began the week with a commitment from class of 2025 consensus four-star dual-threat quarterback Deuce Knight (George County H.s.; Lucedale, Miss.) on Monday morning. It should be acknowledged Knight cannot sign with the Irish for another 15 months.
But he is the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the class, per rivals.com, and the left-hander has all the looks of a modern star quarterback, one with both an accurate arm and the overall creativity that keeps every play alive.
This may seem a forced comparison, but with quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli on staff in South Bend, it warrants mentioning. Knight currently stands 6-foot-4, the same as former Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder. He was just a two-star prospect back in 2017, accepting his only FBS offer. But in five years of development, Guidugli played a key part in turning Ridder into a third-round draft pick, in part because Ridder became a dual-threat quarterback, rushing for 28 touchdowns in his four seasons as the Bearcats’ starter.
When Knight presumably joins the Notre Dame roster, it could — note the verb tense there, as the transfer market moves quarterbacks more than any other position — include Steve Angeli with two years of eligibility remaining at that point, Kenny Minchey with up to three and 2024 commit CJ Carr, perhaps with all four.
"Day started off pretty well. It's good, got some good news." - Marcus Freeman can't say he just got this commitment, but he may as well have just said he got this commitment. https://t.co/Q1vG69GMmu
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) September 18, 2023