Liam Eichenberg – July 29, 2022
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Friday, July 29, 2022
OL Liam Eichenberg
(You’re in the ring of honor for playlists at practice.) – “Man, that was a mess today. I don’t know what happened. I guess my playlist didn’t make it up there, at least the full one. But it was good.”
(You didn’t mean to play King Von three times in a row?) – “I mean I hit up the o-line and said ‘send me some songs.’ Then towards the back end, I put some country stuff. But practice was short today … it was all good.”
(Did you feel we got a full representation of who you are as a music connoisseur?) – “Yeah, a music connoisseur. (laughter) No, I would not say so. That was not my personal preference but it’s what the guys in the o-line room want.”
(What got left out?) – “Some Tyler Childers. Some Zach Bryan. Some slower stuff. Some Turnpike Troubadours. Bluegrass country.”
(Has either Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum or Head Coach Mike McDaniel explained to you why they think left guard is the best way for you to help this team now?) – “They really didn’t explain that. I kind of got a phone call and they were like, ‘Hey, we’re going to have you try this out and maybe some other spots.’ It’s stuck so far so I’m just kind of focusing on that and trying to improve every single day. I’m working on my footwork, my hands and cleaning up my pass pro and everything that comes with playing a new position.”
(How does it feel to get practice player of the day so early into a transition to a new position?) – “Yeah, it was a great honor. I appreciate it from the top down. I’ve just got to keep on improving every single day. New stuff pops up today that didn’t happen yesterday, so I’ve just got to go back to the basics, back to the fundamentals and clean it up.”
(Most of your experience at Notre Dame was at tackle. Is playing guard easier? Is it similar in terms of how difficult it is of an assignment?) – “I would say assignment-based, you need to know the offense regardless of what position you’re at. I’d say center is probably the hardest job with IDing everything from Mike (linebacker) points, from pushing to pulling and everything. At guard, it’s just different. It’s closer. I’ve got a guy to my left and my right now, so I’m trying not to step on Connor (Williams) and Terron (Armstead) – definitely not Terron. (laughter) It’s a whole new feel so I’m just trying to figure it out day-by-day.”
(Are you feeling like your skills are well-suited to playing guard?) – “Yes, I think I’m getting better every day so I’m just going to keep moving in that direction.”
(Has this offseason been easier for you being able to hone-in on one position compared to last year where you basically played every position but center?) – “I would say so. It makes it a lot easier with this offense. I think this offense is, for me personally, a good fit. It’s kind of similar to what we did at Notre Dame a little bit running off the ball. It’s been going well. I would say the biggest thing this offseason is not going through that draft process and kind of being able to work out and not train for a 40(-yard dash) and a bench press and stuff like that. Just kind of getting strong and eating better, putting on weight, stuff like that.”
(Did you reach out to OL Austin Jackson and learn about his experience making the same transition last year?) – “I did. We talked about it for a little bit. He just said it takes time. I’ve been trying to listen to Connor (Williams) because he played left guard in Dallas for so long. Whenever I have an issue, I just go right to Connor. And then Terron (Armstead) is there and Terron has been around for a while. He knows a lot about the offensive line position.”
(What’s it like to add these guys – T Terron Armstead and OL Connor Williams – because before it was Jesse Davis and even his experience is not as much as these other guys?) – “It’s definitely nice having two guys who have played for other teams and going into their second contract. Especially Connor, who played left guard. Then Terron, who played tackle, has been around such great guards. I love Jesse. Jesse I thought did a good job for us. But it’s definitely nice having two of those guys instead of one. You have more eyes, more information.”
(Do you feel ok learning a new position with these shorter, faster practices? Or does it make it more…) – “I think it’s great. We have walkthroughs, we have feed meets (lunch meetings) during the meetings, just running it through my mind and everything like that, so I think it’s been good. I’m still on the notecard grind so that’s all good. It’s been fun. It’s been good.”
(CB Noah Igbinoghene said he gave up meat. Could you ever imagine doing that?) – “I don’t know how he does that. (laughter) I’d lose like 20 pounds in two days probably. I can’t do that. Not at my weight. Not at the position I play.”
(Weight-wise gained or lost from playing tackle?) – “I gained about six or seven pounds, I would say.”
(Was that encouraged by Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum or did you just feel it was necessary to play guard?) – “I just think I just put in the work in the offseason. I was lifting harder, lifting more weight and it kind of came on a little easy. Then I cut body fat and make sure that I’m running. It’s been good. I feel good.”
(We know outside zone, having athletic linemen like you and OL Austin Jackson helps. Have you found it to be a help so far in practice having that sort of athletic skills for a big guy?) – “I would say the biggest thing is the way we run this offense, it relies heavily on the wide zone. So teams have to honor it and it kind of creates that movement that you need to run other plays such as power and inside zone. Yeah, I think it helps. But it just comes back to which offense we run, which is wide zone.”
