SOUTH BEND — Lining up with two right guards would probably work about as well as dancing with two left feet, so Notre Dame football had a decision to make once Billy Schrauth’s sprained ankle returned to health after causing him to miss four-plus games.

Judging from the offensive line’s performance in the 51-14 win over Navy, the alignment of the Irish guards won’t be changing anytime soon. It’s Schrauth at left guard and Rocco Spindler at right guard – until further notice.

Those two have now combined for all 21 starts at right guard since the 2023 opener in Dublin. Fifteen of them belong to Spindler, a graduate junior who stayed in the lineup while redshirt freshman Sam Pendleton returned to a reserve role after seven up-and-down starts on the left side.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who made the decision in consultation with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph, cited the consistency of Spindler’s performance thus far. Denbrock also likes the element of bully-ball now available with an experienced interior that includes fourth-year junior Pat Coogan (18 career starts) at center.

Tae Johnson: In Tae Johnson, Notre Dame football has another 'freak athlete' ready to contribute

“Rocco and Billy, both of those guys bring an element of toughness that is needed in our offensive front,” Denbrock said after Tuesday’s practice. “They’ve done a great job. And really, Rocco has done a nice job of being as consistent as anyone and earned himself an opportunity to stay in there.”

It also doesn’t hurt to put a third-year mauler like Schrauth shoulder-to-shoulder with a freshman left tackle in Anthonie Knapp. While Knapp is still bulking up his 6-foot-4, 294-pound frame, Schrauth goes 6-5 and 310 pounds with the long arms of a tackle.

“I do think it gave Anthonie a little bit of security with Billy there in the last game,” Denbrock said. “I like that element of it. I thought there was some calmness to the way that both of them executed the game plan and communicated together.”

Taking a holistic approach to the offensive line and what might work best against Navy, Denbrock said, was what drove the decision to flip Schrauth from right to left against Navy. Now, it appears, that’s the way things will stay.

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 solves its O-line puzzle with changing of guards