Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
Size:
Height: 6’9”
Weight: 321 pounds
Arm Length: 33 7/8’’
Hand Size: 10”
Accomplishments:
Joe Moore Award Semifinalist (2023) • Lombardi Award Semifinalist and Finalist (2023) • Associated Press All-American First Team (2022) • FWAA All-American Second Team (2022) • Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Watch List (2021)
“Joe Alt has the physical stature, strength, movement skills, and on-field play to become a franchise left tackle for the next decade.”
Strengths:
Outstanding combo of size and athleticism
Zone scheme fit
Lateral agility
Nimble giant
Concerns:
Wide hand carriage
Waist bending
Balance
Film Analysis:
Playing on the offensive line runs in Joe Alt’s gene pool. His father played on Iowa’s offensive line and was a first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1984 NFL Draft.
Alt is an impressive athlete for his size. His basketball and tight-end background shows up with his movement skills and lateral agility. He has light and nimble feet to move laterally and effectively. I appreciated his lower-body flexibility to consistently and comfortably work out of a three-point stance.
Alt is more effective as a wash-down blocker using the defender’s momentum against them down the line of scrimmage. He is a good double-team/tandem blocker in the run game. On these duo blocks, he helps create cut-back lanes for his running back to find daylight at the second level of the defense. His athleticism is apparent when called to pull as a lead blocker in space.
The quickness he plays with at the snap is impressive for such a large human. He can explode off the ball and make contact with his defender quickly. Alt’s football IQ stands out as he identifies blitzes, twists, and stunts. He passes off those creative pressure tactics by the defensive line well. He can quick/jump set rushers to nullify their momentum and not allow them to gear up to full speed. Alt uses diagonal pass sets to meet steep-angle rushers at the apex/top of the rush, cutting off their access to the outside arc. Alt does a good job using his feet to stop forward momentum and anchoring down.
Alt allows rushers too much access to his chest, impacting his balance. For an offensive lineman with his wingspan, I would like to see him dictate the action with strong and calculated punches in pass protection. He uses two-hand punches which can lock his hips. Alt tends to bend at the waist and lean heavily into defenders. This opens him up for quick swim moves and the push/pull technique to quickly displace him from the rep. Combining late punches with his wide-hand carriage makes his process for success a little more difficult than needed.
Alt projects as a day-one starting LT and blindside blocker. He is arguably the most polished OT prospect in the class. I believe he has a high floor and a high ceiling to match. Ideally, I like his fit best with a zone-blocking offense allowing him to use his natural lateral agility to reach, wash down, and cut off defenders in the run game.
Prospect Projection: Day 1 — Pro Bowl Caliber
Written By: Damian Parson
Exposures: NC State (2023), Clemson (2023), Ohio State (2023), Duke (2023), Clemson (2022), Ohio St. (2022), Boston College (2022), USC (2022), South Carolina (2022)
