Billy Schrauth couldn’t stay fully healthy for Notre Dame the last two seasons, but that didn’t take away from him being one of the Fighting Irish’s best offensive linemen for the better part of them. His final act in a blue and gold uniform was playing through a knee injury in the Irish’s game against USC, which might’ve been the best single-game performance of his career.
What a way to send yourself to the next level, eh?
As of Saturday afternoon, Schrauth is officially a professional football player. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Schrauth in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He was the No. 160 overall pick in the draft.
Schrauth could have stayed for one more year at Notre Dame, but what he did against USC and everything else he had accomplished since the start of the 2024 season signaled he was ready for the league. It might take Schrauth a year or two in the franchise to get up to speed, but once he’s all the way there he can absolutely pace a pro offensive line as an interior mauler at guard.
Go look at how many highlights of 2026 NFL Draft first round picks Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price that Schrauth was involved in, and you’ll get the picture. Schrauth is a building block. A cornerstone. A quintessential part of an offensive line that has a desire to block well and set up running lanes for players like Love and Price. He prides himself on making life easier on his tailbacks. And quarterback, for that matter.
Schrauth was one of six team captains for Notre Dame in 2025. There were other NFL Draft hopefuls up front for the Irish last season, including Aamil Wagner coming out in the same class as Schrauth, but this past fall they all tended to look at Schrauth as the steadying force of the unit. He’s a lead-by-example type who took his on-field duties seriously in South Bend.
He’ll take them seriously moving forward, too. That’s the Notre Dame way, especially for offensive linemen; take everything you’ve learned and use your experiences as a tool sharpener and long-lasting source of wisdom. It’s also just the Schrauth way. A low-key, down-to-earth kid from Wisconsin, Schrauth hasn’t needed much more than a farm and a football to keep him occupied to this point in his life. He has his interests and he pours into them with all he’s got.
There’s no doubt, for however long the team that drafted him has him, Schrauth will be one of the hardest workers on the squad and in no time at all could be exactly what he was at Notre Dame; an example for how things need to be done on the daily.