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SOUTH BEND —Owen Strebig, a towering freshman tackle for Notre Dame football, gets his size from his mother’s side of the family.
Kate Strebig is 6-foot-2, while Jason’s dad stands just 5-11.
“This is the funny part,” Owen Strebig said Saturday after practice.
Older sister Abigail is 6-2 and played Division I volleyball at Fairleigh Dickinson. Their twin brothers are in the 6-5 range.
Owen, who turns 19 in June, is already 6-8 and 304 pounds. That ties the Brookfield, Wis., product with sophomore offensive lineman Sullivan Absher for the distinction of tallest active Irish player.
Like former Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt, now starring in the NFL, could Strebig keep growing during his college career?
“Hopefully not,” Strebig said with a laugh.
He’s already packed on more than 100 pounds since giving up baseball upon entering Waukesha’s Catholic Memorial High School. From second grade through eighth grade, Strebig pitched and played first base, even dabbling in travel ball.
“I love it; I miss it,” he said of baseball. “I still like to go out and hit the field and hit a few balls because it’s the only thing I was really good at.”
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Former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Corey Hart, a 6-6 slugger who was a two-time All-Star, remains Strebig’s “favorite player of all time.” Strebig has never met former Brewers manager Craig Counsell (a Notre Dame product) or current Brewers skipper Pat Murphy (a former Notre Dame baseball coach), but there’s still time.
“I actually hope to meet Craig Counsell when I’m on campus,” Strebig said of the current Chicago Cubs manager. “That would be a cool run-in.”
Strebig, who also played basketball through middle school, has the footwork and mobility of a much smaller man. Like so many of his new teammates, he believes he benefited greatly from that range of experience.
“If you can play a multitude of sports growing up, you develop different skills,” Strebig said. “If you’re one sport year-round, you’re going to kind of flatten out. I got to meet a bunch of different people. I think it was for the best.”
Strebig has known Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph since his freshman year of high school. A pair of sophomore linemen were being recruited, and Rudolph, then at Wisconsin, connected with Strebig through Catholic Memorial coach Bill Young on a campus visit.
“(Rudolph) was actually the first coach I ever met,” Strebig said. “And then everything just came full circle when he got the job here and we reconnected. He’s a really good friend of my high school head coach. I think just having that relationship really helped.”
Notre Dame was able to hold off 25 other FBS suitors for Strebig, including fellow finalists Miami, Florida State, Wisconsin and USC.
“Everybody knows what coach Rudolph did for the Badgers,” Strebig said. “I think he’s one of the best offensive line coaches. Above all that he’s just a great person and someone you want to play for. This isn’t just a business for him. He truly cares. He wants to see the best out of us.”
At 6-8, Strebig is hard to miss.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football has another towering tackle in Owen Strebig
Continue reading...
Kate Strebig is 6-foot-2, while Jason’s dad stands just 5-11.
“This is the funny part,” Owen Strebig said Saturday after practice.
Older sister Abigail is 6-2 and played Division I volleyball at Fairleigh Dickinson. Their twin brothers are in the 6-5 range.
Owen, who turns 19 in June, is already 6-8 and 304 pounds. That ties the Brookfield, Wis., product with sophomore offensive lineman Sullivan Absher for the distinction of tallest active Irish player.
Like former Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt, now starring in the NFL, could Strebig keep growing during his college career?
“Hopefully not,” Strebig said with a laugh.
He’s already packed on more than 100 pounds since giving up baseball upon entering Waukesha’s Catholic Memorial High School. From second grade through eighth grade, Strebig pitched and played first base, even dabbling in travel ball.
“I love it; I miss it,” he said of baseball. “I still like to go out and hit the field and hit a few balls because it’s the only thing I was really good at.”
Jeremiyah Love: Notre Dame football star riffs on EA Sports photo shoot, Super Bowl trip
Owen Strebig's first love was baseball
Former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Corey Hart, a 6-6 slugger who was a two-time All-Star, remains Strebig’s “favorite player of all time.” Strebig has never met former Brewers manager Craig Counsell (a Notre Dame product) or current Brewers skipper Pat Murphy (a former Notre Dame baseball coach), but there’s still time.
“I actually hope to meet Craig Counsell when I’m on campus,” Strebig said of the current Chicago Cubs manager. “That would be a cool run-in.”
Strebig, who also played basketball through middle school, has the footwork and mobility of a much smaller man. Like so many of his new teammates, he believes he benefited greatly from that range of experience.
“If you can play a multitude of sports growing up, you develop different skills,” Strebig said. “If you’re one sport year-round, you’re going to kind of flatten out. I got to meet a bunch of different people. I think it was for the best.”
Strebig has known Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph since his freshman year of high school. A pair of sophomore linemen were being recruited, and Rudolph, then at Wisconsin, connected with Strebig through Catholic Memorial coach Bill Young on a campus visit.
“(Rudolph) was actually the first coach I ever met,” Strebig said. “And then everything just came full circle when he got the job here and we reconnected. He’s a really good friend of my high school head coach. I think just having that relationship really helped.”
Notre Dame was able to hold off 25 other FBS suitors for Strebig, including fellow finalists Miami, Florida State, Wisconsin and USC.
“Everybody knows what coach Rudolph did for the Badgers,” Strebig said. “I think he’s one of the best offensive line coaches. Above all that he’s just a great person and someone you want to play for. This isn’t just a business for him. He truly cares. He wants to see the best out of us.”
At 6-8, Strebig is hard to miss.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football has another towering tackle in Owen Strebig
Continue reading...
