SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Just two weeks into his Notre Dame career, Anthonie Knapp found himself struggling with one of director of football performance Loren Landow’s workouts more than he expected.
Knapp, a 6-foot-4, 266-pound offensive lineman, figured it was because of a cold that put him under the weather. But when he went to the doctor, Knapp learned he had a 103-degree fever.
“I’m over here doing the hardest workout with the flu,” Knapp said.
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Other than his body having to fight off a virus, Knapp has really enjoyed his transition to college football from Roswell (Ga.) High. He knew being so far away from home wouldn’t be easy, but that’s what he signed up for when he committed to the Irish last March.
“I love it up here,” Knapp said. “I was mentally prepared for what I was coming into and what school and weightlifting were going to throw at me. At the same time, it is the offseason, so this is the easiest it’s going to get.
“I keep having a mindset not to prepare for the worst, but it’s only going to get harder and harder. That’s what made the transition easier for me. I’m expecting a full day. It’s like a full-time job. You have to love it and that’s what makes it easy.”
Knapp’s path to Notre Dame likely would have never happened if he didn’t begrudgingly make a switch from tight end/outside linebacker to offensive lineman going into his sophomore season. Vince Vance, Roswell’s offensive line coach, a private lineman trainer and a former Georgia offensive lineman, convinced Knapp and his family that a move to offensive line would unlock Knapp’s highest potential.
“I was against it,” Knapp admitted. “I hated offensive line at the beginning.”
But the switch led to playing time for Knapp, and he learned to love what the position allowed him to do on the field.
“As an offensive lineman, I have my job and every single play I can make a highlight,” Knapp said. “No matter where the ball is.
“If you mess up one play, you can get back to it the next play against the same guy and be aggressive. I just kind of love it. I don’t have to worry about the ball or anything else.”
Well, that’s not quite the case anymore. Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has Knapp working on snapping as a potential center of the future for the Irish. He’s also working as a right tackle. Those aren’t positions a lineman usually splits time between.
“They are two completely different positions: right tackle and center,” Knapp said. “There’s probably no similarities. At center, knowing the plays, who the mike [linebacker] is, calling out the point, how many down linemen there are.
“And then you get moved to right tackle. It’s easy to know I can read this defense, so I know what the center is doing. At center, you have to know what everyone is doing.”
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Rudolph, who originally recruited Knapp when he was the offensive line coach at Virginia Tech, has long considered Knapp someone who could play multiple positions in college. Vance made sure to prepare Knapp for the different possibilities, even though he’s never played center in a game.
“I don’t want the guys to get to the point where they’re like, ‘Oh, I can only play guard,’” Vance said. “That doesn’t make you valuable. I started training them in a sense that if they want you to play guard, play guard. If they want you to play tackle, play tackle. If they want you to play center, let’s learn how to snap that ball.
“My thought process was he’s a longer kid, and I think he’s going to get a little bit taller. I thought he’d probably end up staying at tackle. But just in case, let’s work it. And look what happened.”
Knapp has been working with center Ashton Craig, who started the last three games of last season, and snapping at least 100 times per day. He’s trying to get a jump on the learning the playbook as well.
The biggest adjustment for Knapp playing center, Vance said, will be pairing the snap with the physical demands of blocking a large defensive lineman in a split second.
“It’s getting used to having somebody on him quickly,” Vance said. “At tackle, if you’re really good at your pass sets like he is, you create that space from the jump, and it allows you to keep everything in front of you and you can be a better athlete.
“At center with that nose barreling down your face, you don’t really have that luxury. We’ll work some different techniques that allow them a little bit more time to get the snap hand up, but either way, he’s still going to be there.”
In his senior season at Roswell, Knapp grew as a leader of the offensive line and could help correct his teammates on the field and essentially translate the sideline message from Vance. Now he’s leaning on Craig, guard Billy Schrauth and tackle Tosh Baker to guide him through Rudolph’s preferred techniques.
Knapp, who Rivals rated as a three-star prospect and ranked as the No. 69 offensive tackle in the 2024 class, likely won’t be needed to contribute as a freshman in 2024. Putting on weight will have to be a priority for him to become a legitimate option. But broadening his skill set is a good start to maximizing his potential.
“I feel like if I’m able to bring something different to the table, I’m going to get my opportunity,” Knapp said. “It’s all based on what I do with that opportunity.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself. I’m going to have the fundamentals that I know, good coaching and everything, use my speed and use what I’m recruited for, and once I get that opportunity, I know it’s going to make a difference.
“That’s why I don’t want to say I’m nervous for competition. I’m more excited about it because I know either way, I’m going to get an opportunity. It just depends on what I do with it.”
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