Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541365
16 NOV. 22, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC HANSEN I n the moment of inflection, when Anthonie Knapp's football world was painfully imploding, Notre Dame's starting left tackle turned to a quarterback, of all people, to chart a path forward. Riley Leonard's words have helped take Knapp — a 6-foot-4, 300-pound sophomore and unlikely successor to 6-8 unanimous All-American Joe Alt — to a place where a refocused, rebuilt version of himself is every bit a part of a formula that could raise the ceiling of Notre Dame's offensive line in the postseason. The showdown at Pitt was a full-circle test for Knapp and the reshuffled Irish O-line, with the Panthers entering that game boasting statistically the best run defense (third nationally) on the Irish schedule this season. The Panthers also had the best pass rush that ninth-ranked Notre Dame had seen since Texas A&M's in Week 2. Knapp, meanwhile, was coming off a career-best performance against Navy Nov. 8. His overall Alt-like film grade of 86.2, per Pro Football Focus, was third- best among Power Four offensive tackles that weekend. Knapp was nearly equally dominant in pass blocking (85.1) and run blocking (81.8) in the 49-10 romp. How did he get there? It's what's inside Knapp that makes him special — his self-awareness, self- reflection and ability to hit the reset but- ton. That fortitude gives him a chance to continue to confound those who pro- jected that the sole player in Notre Dame history to start more than eight games as a freshman left tackle (15 in 2024) would only evolve into an afterthought. Albeit that was the direction he ap- peared to be headed after being repeat- edly dominated in Notre Dame's season- opening 27-24 loss at Miami Aug. 31. HITTING ROCK BOTTOM "For me, the biggest [takeaway] from Miami was I never experienced some- thing like that, especially in my foot- ball career," Knapp said. "It's the worst when you try this process and you work your tail off only to find out it wasn't FROM PAIN TO GAINS How Anthonie Knapp rebounded from Miami meltdown to anchor Notre Dame's O-line