Every time there is a position group that isn’t playing overly well, or there is generally something to complain about, fans tend to fixate on one player to pass along the blame. In reality, they are typically at best just a part of the problem, but rarely ever fully the whole problem. That has become freshman left tackle Anthonie Knapp when discussing the inconsistencies of the Notre Dame offensive line this season.
Following the team’s 31-13 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets this weekend, there was a lot of negativity surrounding the unit’s performance, and there should have been. As a whole, the offensive line did not play well. Once again, Knapp took a brunt of that criticism but after watching the All 22, it was not close to warranted.
In fact, there is a very strong argument that Knapp was the best offensive lineman for the Irish on Saturday, both in terms of being assignment sound and winning reps. It was the interior offensive line that really had the much larger struggles, putting together just some awful reps. Most fans didn’t feel like mentioning their names, just Knapp’s.
It all centered around a Jeremiyah Love touchdown that was called back due to a holding penalty from the freshman. It was a bad rep, and his worst of the day. Those types of penalties just can’t happen, absolutely killing momentum. That also, however, doesn’t change the fact that Knapp was good the rest of the day.
There was one pass protection rep where Knapp rode the defensive end around the outside track and had slight pressure on quarterback Riley Leonard, but honestly, the issue was more with Leonard getting too much depth and not stepping up into the pocket. Outside of that, there was another rep where a defender won across Knapp’s face but otherwise, he won the vast majority of his overall reps during the game.
The biggest issues in the football game were at offensive guard. Starting left guard Sam Pendleton played his worst football in the blue and gold, really, really struggling against the massive Yellow Jacket interior defensive line. Right guard Rocco Spindler had similar struggles. He gave up penetration all day, and was rarely able to sustain blocks.
Pat Coogan at center was below average, but it was at least passable. The guards playing so poorly also didn’t help him much at all. Still, he had more than his fair share of struggles on the day.
Some people were also down on right tackle Aamil Wagner after the game, but his performance was also a lot better than people acted like it was. Wagner had two very poor reps in pass protection, but was otherwise solid, and did a nice job in the running game. He stopped his feet too much, which allowed for opposing defenders to get off of his blocks on those couple pass protection reps.
Every offensive lineman had massive struggles in this game outside of Knapp, yet we focus on one bad play. In reality, the freshman is the victim of an unfortunate circumstance that isn’t at all his fault. He didn’t cause Charles Jagusah to get injured in the preseason, and he has done nothing but continue to work hard. This is nothing more than displaced anger from Notre Dame fans.
We get it, you want to see Guerby Lambert play. You think that Knapp’s placement in the lineup is nothing more than favoritism coming from offensive line Coach Joe Rudolph . Whether that’s part of it or not, Knapp absolutely deserves to be on the field for the Irish right now as one of the best five up front.
You can argue that someone like Lambert should get a shot at left tackle, and that’s fine. But if that move does happen, you have to move Knapp inside to start at guard. The call to move him to the bench is misguided, and there is largely no proof on film that it is a move you should make.
The heat ultimately needs to start increasing on Coach Rudolph, and some of the decisions he has made if anything. Notre Dame is dealing with three injuries to its starting offensive lineman right now, but your worst offensive lineman right now is a guy you chose to be a starter to begin the season. If you disagree with any parts of the line that is playing, then that also comes back to Rudolph.
More than anything, you have to begin grading players for what they are putting on film. Knapp is not the main issue, and he certainly wasn’t against Georgia Tech. He’s merely the target for Notre Dame fans who are holding to their priors and have chosen No. 54 to be the whipping boy for all failures up front.
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