When watching his film on HUDL it is hard to not smile over and over again because Billy has so many "Wow" plays on his film. Notre Dame is getting an absolute physical presence on the inside of the offensive line. In reading the interviews he has done since committing you get the make up of a young man who is all about handling his business and improving on his offensive line craftmanship.
Billy looks all of the part of 6'5 on film and the way he plays with his pads over his toes is exceptional. What I mean by that is he is always in a striking position ready to attack instead of sitting back and being a position blocker. In offensive line play we talk about being a knee bender and Billy plays with a low squared stance. Since he has great knee bend I would expect him to be an exceptional lifter in power squats and power clean. Billy plays with a fast twitch for a big offensive lineman. He shows no problem with the ability to get out of his stance and strike a defender anywhere on the field.
He plays with a low pad level meaning he is not standing straight up looking to see who he is going to block. He is moving forward with the intention to strike his target and the best part of his blocking are his hands are inside the breastplate of the defender when he strikes him. He looks like an old school guard from the Joe Moore years who loved to put their nose right into your chest and drive you till the whistle blows. The balance he plays with when he pulls or when he is uncovered and has to get the linebacker is very natural to him. I saw a few screen passes where once he locked onto his target he just obliterated the defender. He keeps himself under control and does not go grabbing for cloth out in space but rather gets his 2 hands on you and drives you to the ground.
As a coach what I love about his game is knowing he is well conditioned and plays with a high motor on both sides of the football. I loved seeing him play defensive tackle, end, and he made a lot of plays at the nose guard position. He can rip inside and make a tackle for loss, bull rush you backwards and hold his gap assignment at defensive tackle in the B gap. I loved seeing him use multiple swim moves at nose guard which brought back memories of when Chris Zorich was dominating the interior defensive line.
The negative part of his game will be in pass protection as his team ran the ball down opponents throats every week. He did not face great pass rushers and when he did pass block he's so athletic he would win his 1 on 1's. With him being part of winter conditioning and getting in 15 spring ball practices in with the new offensive line coach we can expect him learn and grow into a dominate offensive lineman for Notre Dame. His high school does not play at the highest level of Wisconsin but he is in a program that has a strong winning culture which Billy will easily fall right into place once and understand Coach Freeman's vision once he is on campus.
Of course comparisons are always going to happen at Notre Dame especially along the offensive line. The line tradition is 2nd to none in college football and the history of the NFL. It is hard to not watch his film and not think of Quenton Nelson. I am not saying he is Nelson but when watching his high school film compared to Billy one can see many similar traits. They both play with great leverage winning their play side gap responsibility. Pad level out of their stance and hand placement really look the same to me. The best part of their games are they both play with a mean streak that is contagious to an offensive line group.
Here is Billy's HUDL link where you can watch his highlights and a Nelson highlight for you all to enjoy and bring back memories to all of ND Nation.
www.hudl.com
This link is to my favorite film on Billy from this 2021 season. The block at the 1:10 mark is the standard I expect him to bring to Notre Dame from day one.
Enjoy Mr. Nelson's high school film
Billy looks all of the part of 6'5 on film and the way he plays with his pads over his toes is exceptional. What I mean by that is he is always in a striking position ready to attack instead of sitting back and being a position blocker. In offensive line play we talk about being a knee bender and Billy plays with a low squared stance. Since he has great knee bend I would expect him to be an exceptional lifter in power squats and power clean. Billy plays with a fast twitch for a big offensive lineman. He shows no problem with the ability to get out of his stance and strike a defender anywhere on the field.
He plays with a low pad level meaning he is not standing straight up looking to see who he is going to block. He is moving forward with the intention to strike his target and the best part of his blocking are his hands are inside the breastplate of the defender when he strikes him. He looks like an old school guard from the Joe Moore years who loved to put their nose right into your chest and drive you till the whistle blows. The balance he plays with when he pulls or when he is uncovered and has to get the linebacker is very natural to him. I saw a few screen passes where once he locked onto his target he just obliterated the defender. He keeps himself under control and does not go grabbing for cloth out in space but rather gets his 2 hands on you and drives you to the ground.
As a coach what I love about his game is knowing he is well conditioned and plays with a high motor on both sides of the football. I loved seeing him play defensive tackle, end, and he made a lot of plays at the nose guard position. He can rip inside and make a tackle for loss, bull rush you backwards and hold his gap assignment at defensive tackle in the B gap. I loved seeing him use multiple swim moves at nose guard which brought back memories of when Chris Zorich was dominating the interior defensive line.
The negative part of his game will be in pass protection as his team ran the ball down opponents throats every week. He did not face great pass rushers and when he did pass block he's so athletic he would win his 1 on 1's. With him being part of winter conditioning and getting in 15 spring ball practices in with the new offensive line coach we can expect him learn and grow into a dominate offensive lineman for Notre Dame. His high school does not play at the highest level of Wisconsin but he is in a program that has a strong winning culture which Billy will easily fall right into place once and understand Coach Freeman's vision once he is on campus.
Of course comparisons are always going to happen at Notre Dame especially along the offensive line. The line tradition is 2nd to none in college football and the history of the NFL. It is hard to not watch his film and not think of Quenton Nelson. I am not saying he is Nelson but when watching his high school film compared to Billy one can see many similar traits. They both play with great leverage winning their play side gap responsibility. Pad level out of their stance and hand placement really look the same to me. The best part of their games are they both play with a mean streak that is contagious to an offensive line group.
Here is Billy's HUDL link where you can watch his highlights and a Nelson highlight for you all to enjoy and bring back memories to all of ND Nation.
Billy Schrauth on Hudl
Watch Billy Schrauth's videos and highlights on Hudl. More info: St. Mary's Springs Academy High School - Boys' Freshman Football / Fond du Lac, WI
www.hudl.com
This link is to my favorite film on Billy from this 2021 season. The block at the 1:10 mark is the standard I expect him to bring to Notre Dame from day one.
Enjoy Mr. Nelson's high school film
