OT Owen Strebig commits to ‘best of both worlds’ Notre Dame
WAUKESHA, Wis. (BVM) – Catholic Memorial High School junior offensive tackle Owen Strebig knew Notre Dame was unique the second he first stepped on campus.
“Notre Dame is different,” Strebig said. “It’s tough to describe why it’s different, but when you’re on campus you get that feeling and I felt that every time.”
That feeling ultimately helped make the difference for Strebig to commit to the Fighting Irish on Feb. 8. The 6-foot-8, 295-pound four-star tackle picked Notre Dame over a final five that also included Florida State, Miami, USC and Wisconsin.
“Notre Dame was the place in my heart that I wanted,” Strebig said. “The degree I’m going to be able to get from Notre Dame is bigger than the four or five years that you’re at college. That degree is going to take care of you for the rest of your life. Also the coaches too, they can help me chase my dreams of playing on Sundays. It’s a perfect mix, the best of both worlds at Notre Dame.”
“I’m going to come in, I’m going to enroll early, so I have the chance to hopefully get better right away and I’m going to do my best to uphold the golden standard and be true to who I am.”
Committed to the University of Notre Dame. #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/sMV43KEcx1
— Owen Strebig (@OwenStrebig) February 8, 2024
Notre Dame has become a factory for creating NFL talent in the offensive trenches such as All-Pros Quenton Nelson, Ronnie Stanley and Zack Martin. Unsurprisingly, Strebig molds his game after some of the great Irish offensive linemen like Joe Alt, but he has other inspirations as well such as Joe Thomas and Taylor Lewan, whom he got to meet during one of his visits to the South Bend campus.
“I actually got to meet Taylor at Notre Dame, he was at the OSU game,” Strebig said. “I had a few inches on him. But it was an amazing experience, surreal.”
Relationships played a key role in Strebig’s commitment as well. The first coach that ever reached out to the offensive tackle was Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph who was the o-line coach for Wisconsin at the time. Now, a couple of years later, Strebig reconnected with Rudolph and the rest of the Irish coaching staff and the connection flourished.
“I visited there a lot and [Rudolph] was up here a lot,” Strebig said. “The people you’re around, both on the roster and on the coaching staff, will make your experience. I was comfortable there and every time I visited I felt like family.”
Thank you @Marcus_Freeman1 @MikeDenbrock @CoachJoeRudolph for stopping by Memorial today. #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/xHtbtVEq1Z
— Owen Strebig (@OwenStrebig) January 19, 2024
While many offensive linemen may be focused on pancaking their opponents, Strebig’s mindset is a little bit different.
“My play style is simple: I don’t try to throw guys and put guys on my highlight tape, I’m trying to make one block then make another block,” Strebig said. “I think too many people are caught up in the mindset of pancaking someone and going to the ground, but if you’re able to put somebody on the ground and get a knockdown, go to the next level and get someone else. Last time I checked two are better than one so keep moving.”
Strebig’s big month didn’t end with just his commitment. The tackle was also one of just 33 high school players able to represent NFL teams at Nike’s “The Next Ones” event in Las Vegas on Super Bowl weekend.
@owen.strebig Vegas soon! @Nike @NFL @Green Bay Packers #thenextones #nfl #superbowl #nike #packers #lasvegas #football #d1football
Cameras captured Strebig receiving his invite from Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Yousuah Nijman during a January visit to Wisconsin.
“I knew I was going, but I had never seen the video so when they put that video on that was cool,” Strebig said.
While on his visit to Madison, @OwenStrebig got the news from @YosuahNijman1 that he will be representing the #Packers as one of The Next Ones with @usnikefootball.#OnWisconsin | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/PdSdtOSEmy
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 29, 2024
The event itself was one of the best experiences of the young athlete’s life.
“That was probably the craziest 22 hours of my life,” Strebig admitted. “I met celebrities, I was on Team Vick so Michael Vick was our captain and LaDainian Tomlinson was there and I got to meet people from Nike too so it was the networking aspect. I also got to meet players so I was able to recruit a few guys and let them know why Notre Dame’s home. It was an amazing event and I’m eternally grateful to be invited to that.”
@overtimeszn ALL THE STARS came out for Nike’s Next Ones in Vegas 💫 @Nike #kaicenat #lilyachty #michaelvick #ladaniantomlinson #football #d1
In Las Vegas, surrounded by other top athletes both from high school and the pros, Strebig was able to soak in the moment and how significant it truly was.
“We were up in the Nike penthouse at the Encore Hotel and I was just shooting pool and I took a moment and looked around and thought about how grateful I was to be here,” Strebig said. “That’s when it kind of hit me what this whole thing was.”
