Notre Dame’s offensive line is still sorting out one of its biggest questions with the season opener against Wisconsin just 12 days away: who takes over at right guard?
The answer isn’t settled yet, and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock made that much clear. While the staff continues to monitor the Joe Otting-Ashton Craig battle at center - with team doctors still not fully clearing Craig as he works back from his second torn ACL in as many seasons - right guard has become its own open-ended competition.
“Listen, the competition at right guard is open,” Denbrock said. “And we’ve got a number of guys we're taking a look at in there. Styles is one of those guys.”
That “Styles” is Styles Prescod, who has emerged as a real candidate after getting a longer look in the Aug. 21 jersey scrimmage at Notre Dame Stadium. Prescod, who entered camp viewed as the top backup at either tackle spot, worked Tuesday as a guard between Craig and starting right tackle Guerby Lambert, last year’s starter at right guard.
“We put (Prescod) in there in the scrimmage and saw some really natural things happen from him in there,” Denbrock said. “We're going to keep trying to figure out what the best combination is up front. But Styles is definitely in the mix to become one of the five that goes out there.”
Prescod, a 6-foot-6, 304-pound lineman from Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind., has been building momentum as a reserve behind Lambert and second-year tackle Will Black. Denbrock pointed to the way Prescod has developed in practice, especially in terms of consistency and preparation.
“He's come a long way with his maturity about his approach to every practice and the consistency that he's been playing with,” Denbrock said of Prescod. “He's been outstanding at tackle and has earned an opportunity to showcase whether he could be one of the first five guys in there.”
His path has not been smooth. Prescod missed the 2024 season after early-season surgery on his right shoulder.
As a freshman last fall, he was limited to 88 offensive snaps over seven games, mostly in mop-up duty. His busiest day came in the home shootout against Purdue, when he played 20 snaps.
Pro Football Focus graded his season poorly, with marks between 32 in pass blocking and 49 in run blocking.
Still, Notre Dame is giving him a chance to prove he can handle more. Denbrock said Prescod is “probably, at this point, a clear backup at either one of the tackle positions,” but the staff wants to see whether he can do more if asked to move inside.
“There's opportunity at other places, and we've got to give him an opportunity to see whether he can handle the workload or whether we've got to go in another direction. He's earned that by his play.”
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