Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame to Start a True Freshman at Left Tackle Against Texas A&M?

Competition rages on for starting spot during Notre Dame's fall camp

Nick Shepkowski

Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph, second from right, talks to offensive lineman Aamil Wagner (59) during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in South Bend.
Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph, second from right, talks to offensive lineman Aamil Wagner (59) during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

If Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has made one thing clear about position battles in fall camp, it's that there will be a true competition to earn reps.

With that understanding it's clear that the left tackle position remains very much up for grabs just 16 days away from Notre Dame's trip to Texas A&M.

It was supposed to be Charles Jagusah but in the first days of camp the highly coveted 2023 recruit suffered a pectoral injury and will miss the entire season.

Then it was supposed to be graduate student Tosh Baker who has started two games for Notre Dame during his time in blue and gold.

And on Thursday a new name was thrown into the mix as true freshman Anthonie Knapp practiced with the first team.

Notre Dame Football - Who is Anthonie Knapp?

Knapp is a true freshman who was playing at Roswell High School in Georgia last fall.

Knapp is listed at 6-4, 281-pounds on the Notre Dame website, clearly giving up a significant amount of size to the 6-8, 320-pounds Tosh Baker is listed at.

Knapp listed 22 scholarship offers last year with the majority coming from the ACC programs while Penn State also offered. Notably, the only SEC team listed to have offered Knapp on 247Sports is Missouri.



Not that recruiting rankings are the be-all-end-all, but Knapp was listed as a three-star recruit, 26th best offensive tackle, and the 38th best player from Georgia in the 2024 recruiting class.

Along those lines, Joe Alt was rated the nation's 20th best tackle in 2021 and started his Notre Dame career as a tight end. We of course all saw how that worked out.

Notre Dame Football - Freshman Tackles Historically

A true freshman starting at a tackle position for Notre Dame historically doesn't happen all that often but does from time to time. If it does end up happening with Anthonie Knapp, he'd join a list that has seen a couple of names added in recent years.


Ryan Harris, now a member of the Notre Dame radio team, started at tackle as a true freshman fresh off his TV debut on MTV's True Life. Harris was a four-year starter at Notre Dame. Harris became a third-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2007, where he had three different spans during his 10 year NFL career that included a victory in Super Bowl 50.


Five-star recruit Sam Young of Florida started the 2006 opener for Notre Dame at Georgia Tech. Young went on to get drafted in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys and played 10 seasons in the NFL.

Robert Hainsey enrolled at Notre Dame in 2017 and got on the field much during his freshman season and earned a start in the Citrus Bowl win over LSU. Hainsey played multiple positions on Notre Dame's offensive line over the years and has been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2021.



Blake Fisher earned the starting left tackle spot entering 2021. Fisher, a prized recruit from the state of Indiana, was injured in the second quarter of his debut at Florida State and would miss the rest of the regular season. However, another true freshman in the 2021 recruiting class would soon take over and never give up reigns.

Joe Alt prepares for Notre Dame's 2023 game at North Carolina State
Sep 9, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tackle Joe Alt (76) during the first half at Carter-Finley Stadium. / Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Alt began his Notre Dame career getting reps at tight end in 2021 before moving to left tackle. He started the final eight games of the 2021 season there, including the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State.

Alt went on to be about as dominant as any left tackle in Notre Dame history. By his sophomore season he was on just about every All-American team and did the same in 2023 while serving as a Notre Dame captain.

Alt was taken by the Los Angeles Chargers with the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and if all goes according to plan, will be a mainstay on their defensive line for years.

Notre Dame Football Left Tackle - Nick's Quick Take:

You don't get to the point that you're 16 days from a season opener and changing up the left tackle because you feel good about what you have seen.

Tosh Baker, bless his heart, clearly hasn't performed at a level Joe Rudolph and the rest of the Notre Dame coaching staff would like, otherwise you wouldn't see this.

Heck, just days after the Jagusah injury was announced, Rudolph made it seem pretty clear that it appeared to be Baker's job to lose.

I wouldn't think it's final quite yet but just the fact that Anthonie Knapp was out with the ones on Thursday should tell you everything you need to know about how Notre Dame's coaches see this part of the line.


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Nick Shepkowski

NICK SHEPKOWSKI

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