Entering the 2024 season, true freshman left tackle Anthonie Knapp was more or less an afterthought when Notre Dame media and fans alike began penciling in mock depth charts and trying to figure out how the offensive line would look to open the year.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
All those projections were thrown into disarray when the expected starter, Charles Jagusah, tore his pec early in fall camp. With an opening date on the road against Texas A&M looming, it seemed like the type of injury that could derail a season that hadn't even begun yet.
Coming out of high school, there were plenty of people who felt Knapp would fit best as an interior lineman, in part due to his 6'4 stature. Yet, Marcus Freeman decided to hand him the keys as blindside protector out of the gate, and it paid off in a major way. Knapp was not a perfectly polished player and still has areas to improve on, but he solidified himself as the best freshman tackle in the country as the year progressed, and the sky is now the limit, whether he remains at tackle next season or slides to the interior at some point. We take a look back at some moments from his first year for the Fighting Irish, to highlight where he improved and what he can work on going forward.
Opening the season in a hostile environment like Kyle Field, in primetime too, is a tough spot for a four-year starter, let alone someone getting the first snaps of their college career.
Above is Knapp's second snap of the game. You can see he oversets on the inside jab move of the edge player, which allows the defender to get Knapp turned and beat him outside.
Again in this play, Knapp will slightly overset, this time to the outside, which allows the edge player to get him off balance and spin back inside for the hit on Riley Leonard.
One more example of Knapp oversetting is above. The nickel corner blitzes off the edge, Knapp jumps too far outside and allows the DB to knife in for the tackle for loss.
As the game continued, Knapp began to get more comfortable and started to show off some of his strengths.
Here he is 1 on 1 with one of the better pass rushers in the country in Nic Scourton. He shows excellent punch timing and play strength here as he is able to get his hands into Scourton's chest, anchor down, and pancake him.
On what turned out to be one of the most important plays of the game, Knapp once again shows off some major play strength as well as some high football IQ. He feels Nic Scourton drop off the edge into a delayed stunt and picks up the looping 3-tech defensive tackle instead. Once engaged, he uses powerful hands to chop the defender's arms and knock him off balance. Leonard received a clean pocket and was able to make a huge completion because of it. For a true freshman, this is an elite rep.
No offensive linemen is a viable option without being able to hold their own in the run game. In game one for Knapp, he passed that test on multiple occasions, none bigger than the above play which was the go-ahead touchdown for the biggest road win in Marcus Freeman's tenure at the time. Knapp works up to the second level and gets enough of the linebacker to spring Jeremiayh Love for the touchdown. I would like to see Knapp attack the outside shoulder of the defender just a little more to be able to turn him, but he still threw the most important block on this play.
The Texas A&M game did not come without mistakes, but for a first-time starter, Knapp set the stage for what would be an ultra-impressive freshman season.
Fast forwarding to the Sugar Bowl, Knapp found himself once again matched up against an aggressive and dangerous defensive line with the Georgia Bulldogs taking the field. The difference is, at this point, Knapp had a full season of experience under his belt and it showed.
Right out of the gate, you can see how much quicker and more effective his punch timing was. He is able to completely lock out and stonewall the edge player as Leonard rolls out in the opposite direction.
As it happened a few times in the A&M game, Knapp slightly oversets to the outside on this play allowing the defender to rip inside. The difference is that Knapp shows good recovery speed here and can ride the defender enough to allow Leonard to roll out to his left to complete the pass. It is not a perfect rep by any means but it shows improvement from similar situations he faced earlier in the year.
This play stood out because it showcases that he processes bad reps and learns from them. Here the defender makes a similar move to what had given Knapp some issues in previous clips in this article, with a quick jab step and outside rush. Unlike some of his other times facing this move, Knapp does a good job of not oversetting and staying square to the defender, showing good lateral agility as he mirrors him on the outside counter and completely neutralizes him on this play.
Biggest Offseason Focuses for Improvement
Knapp has very good athletic ability for the offensive line position. He needs to trust in this more going forward and be more patient with his pass sets. Oversetting bit him a few times in 2024 and if he stays at left tackle, he will continue to face some of the best rushers in the country week in and week out.
I don't doubt Knapp's ability to be a mauler in the run game, but when it comes to short yardage situations, there are times where he will lunge with his head down and whiff on his man. He needs to keep his head up to maintain balance, and be more accurate with his punch at the point of attack.
One of the biggest differences between the Marcus Freeman and Brian Kelly regimes is Freeman's willingness to trust young talent. With the exception of missing the National Championship due to injury, Anthonie Knapp held down the left tackle spot from start to finish, and considering the level of competition faced, and deep playoff run, he had one of the more impressive freshman seasons in recent Notre Dame memory. I think there is versatility in his skill set that has yet to be utilized and I think he is the rare type of player that could probably be effective at all five spots on the offensive line. As he continues to grow more and more into whatever role the coaching staff hangs on him, I think he will become more of a household name and a future star. Although the quarterback position will be up for grabs for most of the off-season. whoever wins the job can rest assured they will be well protected, and Anthonie Knapp is a major reason why.
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