Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530431
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2025 13 UNDER THE DOME PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "A former blue-chip outlier for On3, An- thonie Knapp caught many by surprise when he won the starting job as a left tackle at Notre Dame following a pre- season injury to Charles Jagusah. Despite likely being an interior offensive lineman long-term, Knapp has held down the left tackle spot admirably for Notre Dame, which is poised to make the College Foot- ball Playoff. "He came into college with an advanced level of technical skills in addition to physi- cal play and good athleticism. According to Pro Football Focus, Knapp played close to 700 snaps for the Fighting Irish at left tackle and surrendered just 15 hurries on the season." — Thomas Goldkamp on Notre Dame left tackle ANTHONIE KNAPP being named a Freshman All-American by On3 "The CJ Carr era is coming for the Irish, the young quarterback. So, I don't think Notre Dame has to go in the portal this year. They've spent a lot of money in the portal the last two years. Riley Leonard and Sam Hartman did not come to South Bend cheap. "Those are some resources that could really help Notre Dame be pretty strong in this portal season. Not having to put that money into the quarterback position, but in some other positions as they go out and try and land an elite player or two to keep this thing rolling next year." — On3 vice president for recruiting and transfer portal Steve Wiltfong "Miles, a [graduate student], has court vision for eye-of-the-needle assists that perfectly comple- ment (and enhance) her ability to create for herself. Hidalgo, a sophomore, owns unmatched speed and quickness that makes her a constant nuisance on defense and a threat to slice to the bucket against larger, more physical players. In addition, they're coached by [Niele] Ivey, one of the best point guards in program history, who brought the Irish their first national title in 2001. With that kind of floor general talent, one doesn't even have to squint to see that Notre Dame looks like 'Point Guard U.' … "Together, they are college basketball's best ex- ample of 1+1=3. Individually, each is an All-Ameri- can-worthy point guard. Together, they make each other (and every other player on the floor) far more dangerous." — Chantel Jennings of The Ath- letic on Notre Dame point guards Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo "His future is more important than winning one or two extra games. We care more about his fu- ture than we care about anything else. His health comes first. All of our guys, in that way. … When he's ready, he'll be back, but we're going to make sure that he's 100 percent ready. I just don't know when that timeline's going to be." — Notre Dame men's basketball head coach Micah Shrewsberry on sophomore point guard Markus Burton "Make the semifinals. Simply hosting a first- round game means Notre Dame's season gets a passing grade. For it to be considered a success, the Irish must win at home and beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. That would give Notre Dame its first major bowl win in 31 years." — Pete Sampson of The Athletic on what would be a successful College Football Playoff for the Fighting Irish "It's hard to discuss Notre Dame without men- tioning its loss to Northern Illinois. It's the worst loss on a playoff team's record, and it's the main reason why the Irish fell so far behind. Still, there's an argument to be made that Notre Dame did enough to bury the residual Northern Illinois em- barrassment and rise to the top at-large spot. "Instead, the Irish have to play 11-1 Indiana in the first round for a right to a showdown against No. 2 seed and SEC champion Georgia. That's the difference a couple of spots make." — Will Backus of CBS Sports on the Irish being snubbed for the No. 5 seed in the College Football Playoff "This is a huge spot for Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, who is finishing Season 3 and still doesn't have a signature win. This season probably would be considered a disappointment if Notre Dame didn't advance at least to the quarterfinals. If Notre Dame can beat the Hoosiers, the Irish might provide a tough stylistic matchup for Georgia. But that's not something anyone in South Bend needs to think about, because [Indiana head coach Curt] Cignetti is going to have the Hoosiers ready." — Andy Staples of On3 ranking Notre Dame-Indiana the second-best matchup of the first-round CFP games Irish On Social Media