This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #78 Tommy Kramer, Offensive Line

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them all. One Foot Down’s player profile series will take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2020 season.

Tommy Kraemer, OL

Kraemer enters his fifth year of playing for the Irish, seeing starting action for the last 3. The 6’6 320 pounder for Cincinnati (shoutout Elder High School/The Pit) has played in 32 games in his career, starting 31 of them. As an extremely highly touted recruit, Kraemer joins an incredibly experienced and talented offensive line that should be one of, if not the top group in the country. His season ended early last year with a sprained MCL, but that does not look to hold him back as he was full go for the (very) abbreviated Spring. The expectations for both Kraemer and this unit as a whole are incredibly high looking into the 2020 season.

Spirit Animal

Skyline Chili (4 way)

Skyline is a local delicacy in Cincinnati and a VERY hearty dish. At 6’6 320, Kraemer needs to keep his bulk up and (my assumption) is that he includes Skyline regularly in his diet. The main dish is spaghetti, Skyline Chili, a heaping mound of cheddar cheese, and the option of adding onions and or beans (I go onions no beans). Also, there will be be oyster crackers and hot sauce as the main side dish. This may seem gross, but for some reason it works and is delicious. I compare Kraemer to this because of how much love he has in his hometown/school. I’ve played with a few guys from Elder while at Holy Cross and they take intense pride in their city, and Kraemer seems no different.

2020 Outlook

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Kraemer will hold down his position next to Robert Hainsey on the offensive line this year. He should be one of the top guards in the country and should provide Ian Book and company plenty of time and holes to make this a dynamic offense. After the year, Kraemer will depart and will definitely hear his named called in the 2021 NFL draft.

Here is to more of this in 2020 and as always, Go IRISH!