On Wednesday morning, Notre Dame football lost yet another important player to injury. It wasn’t to the transfer gateway this time. It wasn’t shocking either. Joe Alt, a junior left lineman, declared he would not be participating in the Sun Bowl or coming back for his senior season. Alt is going to the NFL Draft instead. He intends to make history by being the first player from Notre Dame to be taken in the first round since Kyle Hamilton in 2022.
When Alt came to South Bend three years ago, he was only a three-star recruit according to ESPN and Rivals, not even a consensus four-star prospect. Alt quickly shown that the ratings were unreliable. Alt needed just five games to establish himself as a starter, a position he would hold throughout his college career. The first of several honors Alt won for the Irish, he was awarded a Pro Football Focus Freshman All-American.
In 2022, Alt received a first-team All-American designation from the Associated Press and was chosen a second-team All-American by the FWAA and Walter Camp, among other publications. According to all three publications, Alt merited a spot on the first team in 2023. According to Pro Football Focus, he is the second-best offensive tackle in the nation.
Given all those achievements, Alt’s departure is not surprising. According to many sources, Alt could be selected in the first round and make it into the top 10. There hasn’t been an offensive lineman taken by the Irish in the first round since Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson were selected by the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers, respectively, three selections apart at No. 6 and No. 9 in 2018.
