Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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NOV. 14, 2026 17 Knapp's overall Pro Football Focus grade was 48.3, and his pass-blocking grade a stunning 12.9, going against Mi- ami's elite defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, neither of whom are on the 2026 Hurricanes roster. Knapp, though, isn't the same player either. Last year's sophomore left tackle is now a junior left guard, his more nat- ural position, and one who was so im- pressive at tackle late last season and at guard last spring, he was a popular choice as a preseason All-American. Notre Dame's offensive line has grown up with him. After surrendering a tsunami of pressures and 3 sacks in the 2025 season opener at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, the Irish allowed just 2 sacks through their first eight games of 2026 — and none after the Sept. 19 Michigan State game. WHEN HARD WORK WASN'T HARD ENOUGH "For me, the biggest [takeaway] from Miami [in 2025] was I never experi- enced something like that, especially in my football career," Knapp said late last season. "It's the worst when you try this process and you work your tail off only to find out it wasn't good enough. And then you feel like you failed your teammates. "And so, for me, I had to go right back to that drawing board and understand that what I thought is working hard isn't hard enough. I really took that to heart, because it hurts. That's the worst feeling. I never want to feel it again." A phone call to former teammate Riley Leonard, Carr's predecessor as Notre Dame's QB1, helped put Knapp on a productive road to redemption. "He said, 'Focus on the process and understand things that happen, hap- pen,'" Knapp related. "'And you've got to go back to the drawing board. Things you thought would work, don't. You've got to do more.' And I think that was the biggest thing for me, is understanding that what I think is working [was not]. "It's more just for my guys. It sucks when you want to go out there and do your thing and then you feel like you can't. Understanding the bigger picture, I think that was my big- gest takeaway." A DIFFERENT LINE, A FAMILIAR CHALLENGE The bigger picture entering November was how Notre Dame's offensive line, a position group woven into Irish football's identity every bit as deeply as the "Tight End U" designation, could help the Irish finish the month with a flourish. The improvement since the 41-13 victory over Wisconsin in the Sept. 6 season opener was real. The question heading into the Miami rematch was just how real. "It's kind of funny," Knapp said, "be- cause the first game of the season always opens up, like it can go both ways [better or worse than expected] just because you have been going against your own team for fall camp and like the whole offsea- son. So, it always kind of leaves a room for a lot of things to improve. "And I think the biggest focus for us as an offensive line is just like week by week, just kind of honing in on those little things and just being more consis- tent. And that's been our biggest focus and something we've definitely taken pride in and honed in on for sure these past eight weeks." The latest steps in that improvement were partly inspired by members of Notre Dame's 1988 national champion- ship team, who returned to South Bend for the 2026 Miami showdown — 38 years after taking down the top-ranked Hurricanes themselves. That was history Knapp knew noth- ing about growing up in Roswell, Ga. "It's kind of funny," he said. "My dad grew up in Greenville, Pennsylvania. My mom [Natasha], she's not from this country [Netherlands native], so there was only NFL football, so Pittsburgh Steelers was it. But when I got here though, the history, I mean they did a great job educating us on the history. And it's just absolutely amazing. "And you know, the cool thing about Notre Dame is the alumni network and you see all these ex-players come in. And they all have their own personal stories about this game. And the history behind it and just hearing that is just, it's astonishing. And it's really cool to be part of and I'm glad to be a part of it." A BLUEPRINT FOR TOUGHNESS Knapp credits both his high school offensive line coach, Vincent Vance — a former Georgia O-line standout — and mom Natasha with shaping his own journey prior to arriving at Notre Dame as a lightly recruited prospect, then succeeding unanimous All-American Joe Alt as the starting left tackle as a freshman in 2024. He became the first true freshman in Notre Dame's modern history to start more than eight games at left tackle, making 15 starts in 2024. "Vincent Vance was able to take [Bob Knapp's words] and kind of harness it and put me on the offensive line," An- thonie said. "He kind of amplified it the same way. And now, it's kind of always been a mentality I try to possess. I think it frees a lot of people up if you're able to play that way and kind of bring every- body else along." It's almost a defensive lineman's mentality, and one that convinced Knapp at one point that he had a defen- sive lineman's future. "It was funny," Knapp said of the defensive experiment in high school. "I looked like a baby giraffe out there. So, I was awkward. Vince Vance, he's like, 'You're an offensive lineman.' And he talked to my mom because my dad wanted me to play defensive line. "And when we talked to mom, [Vance] said he has an opportunity to play in college. And my mom's like, 'I'm not paying for college, so get him on the of- fensive line.'" The rest was up to Anthonie and relent- less work and the passion to go with it. "You prepare your butt off," he said, "but it all starts with violence for sure." ✦ Knapp (No. 54) started 12 games at left tackle in 2025, but as a junior he has made the move to the start- ing left guard position. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER "It's the worst when you try this process and you work your tail off only to find out it wasn't good enough. And then you feel like you failed your teammates." KNAPP