2024 NFL Scouting Combine: What We Learned during Saturday's activities in Indianapolis

4) Like father, like son … eventually. It might seem that Notre Dame OT Joe Alt, as the son of a two-time Pro Bowl left tackle, always seemed fated to play offensive line in the NFL one day. But Alt spent nearly his entire high-school career playing tight end and defensive end — and his father actually delayed Joe’s move to the O-line as long as possible.

Alt’s father, John Alt, started 149 games for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1984 to 1996 and even coached the offensive line at Totino-Grace (Minnesota) High School once Joe started playing there. But John encouraged Joe to stay at TE and DE for as long as he could.

The idea? To keep Alt’s athleticism up for as long as he could.

“My dad did the same thing I did. He ended up playing tight end his first two years of college (at Iowa) and then ended up playing offensive line,” Alt said Saturday. “So he was the one who told me to play tight end to keep my foot speed.”

Alt played only one game in high school on the offensive line but said he would go through OL drills as well as tight end. The way his body was going, Alt was outgrowing his old position.

“I kind of saw it coming,” he said. “My body was growing, so that’s where I was headed.”

Alt committed to the Irish and was thrown into the fire right away. Notre Dame had a revolving door at left tackle in Alt’s true freshman season of 2021 before he won the starting job for the final eight games that year — and he never let it go. He developed at an impressive rate, earning first-team Associated Press All-America honors the past two seasons, then declared for the 2024 NFL Draft as an underclassman.

“I knew if I got that opportunity, I wasn’t going to let it go,” Alt said. “I put all the time and effort and work into it, especially in the film room. That was important to help me get the speed of the game under control and learn what I needed to do.”

Alt, who turned 21 years old earlier this week, is now projected by many analysts as a possible top-10 pick. He can thank his quality bloodlines — Alt had a brother in the NFL and a sister who played college hoops — but also his father’s vision for him.

“I think for my size, I am very athletic,” Alt said. “I have the length and can use my feet well. That’s something that … I take a lot of pride in my game.”