Irish offensive line a cohesive block

Members of the 1985 Bears offensive line called themselves the Bruise Brothers.

Now that was a great name for an O-line — especially one from Chicago.

The Notre Dame unit that blocked for the famed Four Horsemen during the 1924 championship season was dubbed the Seven Mules.

Not quite as catchy, huh?

The bottom line is that very rarely does an O-line gain any notoriety at all, and if they do it’s usually only because they’re part of a championship-caliber team. But even then there’s no guarantee.

After one false start earlier this season, the Notre Dame O-line that will play for the BCS title Monday night shall remain nameless.

“We don’t have one yet. Hopefully we can get one in the next few years,” said standout guard Chris Watt.

“There was a nickname ‘Sons of Anarchy’ that came out earlier in the year in the school newspaper, but that kind of defeats the point of the offensive line because we have to kind of stick together.”

So for now, Notre Dame’s no-name O-line will continue to toil in relative obscurity, and that’s just fine with Watt and Co.

“We really don’t care,” he said. “We have a new offensive line coach (Harry Hiestand) and he’s been really good about putting everything aside — newspapers and the history of other programs — and really just focusing on us.

“At the end of the day, if we’re doing our job he’s really proud of us. And that’s all that matters to us — that our coach is proud of how we’re doing.”

So, since no one else is going to introduce the unit as a whole with a catchy moniker, Watt offered up a little skinny on each one of his big friends on the line.

ŸZack Martin, left tackle:“Great leader, one of my best friends here, so it’s nice playing alongside him. He brings a great skill set to that position.”

Braxston Cave, center:“Strong, another great leader who has a focal position for us. He’s really helped everyone out with line calls and has really improved over the offseason.”

Mike Golic Jr., right guard:“Really hard worker. Knows the offense inside and out. Really gets after defensive players both in practice and in games.”

Christian Lombard, right tackle:“He’s really developed nicely in his first year as a starter. He’s come into his own and is playing really well,” Watt said of Lombard, who was a standout at Fremd High School.