Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- If Notre Dame wants to right its offensive ship, it's going to have to start with anchoring the offensive line.
The unit was one of the most inexperienced and criticized positions a year ago. It gave up an NCAA worst 58 sacks, limiting the running game to 2.1 yards per carry and kept quarterback Jimmy Clausen injured much of the season.
So in the offseason, coach Charlie Weis decided the best way to make the offensive line play more effective was to make it bigger and stronger than the year before. Weis reported that every offensive lineman on the two deep was at least 300 pounds with right tackle Sam Young weighing in the heaviest at 330.
That weight increase included sophomore center Dan Wenger, who was 287 pounds in the spring and weighed in at 302 on Thursday.
"I know everyone worked out," Young said. "I can't speak to what programs they did or whatnot, but when everyone came back everyone was more than ready to get going.
"I think over the course of the winter and spring and whatnot there was just a renewed hunger and just work ethic and just all that entails."
Weis said the added heft of the offensive line allows it to be much more physical at the point of attack instead of getting bowled over. He said Notre Dame also exposed its offensive linemen when it faced large scoring deficits.
"When you get down big in games and you're throwing the ball all day long to try and come back you obviously expose your offensive linemen, as well as everyone else," Weis said. "I'm going to try and do all I can to make sure we're not in that situation."
Young said the offensive line knew it was responsible for some of Notre Dame's offensive woes last season. The team ranked 119th out of 119 Division I-A schools in total offense. Young said the offensive line, which returns three starters from last season, knows that before Notre Dame can start talking about variations in its offense, the offensive line has to prove it can protect.
"It all starts with the offensive line," Weis said. "It's great to have all these imaginative ideas on how you're going to expand the offense, but the first thing you have to do is make sure the quarterback isn't getting killed."
Watson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Missouri Tigers and the Big 12 Conference for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She also covered college football recruiting for the Dallas Morning News.
