This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #56 John Dirksen, Offensive Line

#56 John Dirksen, Offensive Line

John Dirksen committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on March 25, 2017 as a member of the 2018 recruiting class. Dirksen chose the Irish over offers from Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt. He held a 3-star ranking per 247Sports. Dirksen was rated as the 21^st best player in the state of Ohio, 42^nd best offensive tackle, and 515^th best player nationally in the class of 2018. He attended Marion Local High School, and his hometown is Maria Stein, Ohio. Dirksen currently stands 6’5’’ and weighs 206 pounds.

As is typical with most freshmen offensive lineman at Notre Dame, John Dirksen did not see any action during the 2018 season and was redshirted. During the 2019 season, Dirksen played in 8 games, making most of his contributions on special teams. Last season, Dirksen played in 11 of a possible 12 games, logging 46 total offensive snaps as a reserve on the offensive line. Dirksen also grabbed a prominent role on several special teams’ units during the run to the College Football Playoff.

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The Restaurant That Fits

Long John Silver’s

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I have seen these restaurants in several states that I have lived. However, I can truthfully say I have never eaten at one. With that said, there must be people that are eating at them or the chain would cease to exist. Similarly, John Dirksen operates in the same obscurity. I have seen him play, and he must be a player that the coaches trust in some capacity due to his role on special teams. Yet, Dirksen seems destined to finish his Irish career in relative anonymity.

2021 Outlook

Currently, the starting prospects for Dirksen during the 2021 season appear slim. The staff liked him enough to insert him with the first-team offense during the team’s initial spring practice. However, due a mixture of his inefficiency and other players outperforming him, Dirksen soon found himself relegated to the second unit. With the announcement yesterday that grad transfer Cain Madden, a 2020 All-American guard, would be joining the Irish for the upcoming season, the thought that Dirksen could be the first guard off the bench has also taken a hit. While the projected starting 5 remains a mystery, it is a safe bet that one of the two starting guards will soon be replaced by Madden, thus reshuffling the depth chart and pushing Dirksen further down the list. Dirksen’s best avenue to playing time during the upcoming season appears to remain on special teams.

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