Joe Rudolph has now landed his first offensive line commitment as a member of the Notre Dame staff. It’s a commitment that very few Notre Dame fans could have foreseen just a week ago, as Anthonie Knapp didn’t have receive an offer from Notre Dame until Friday, March 24th, during his first visit to South Bend. Just five days later, the 6’4″/265-pounder out of Georgia has joined Notre Dame’s recruiting class of 2024.

While things may have moved very quickly between Anthonie and Notre Dame, he’s been a top target for Joe Rudolph since last fall when Rudolph was still coaching at Virginia Tech. There’s a familiarity and comfort level between recruit and position coach that’s been built over the last 6 months or more, and it’s been integral in Notre Dame landing Anthonie so quickly after offering.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports Composite —3 star (.8800), #526 overall, #41 OT, #60 in GA

On3 Consensus — 3 star (88.00), #534 overall, #34 OT, #61 in GA

The 247 Composite and On3 Consensus both combine 247, On3, Rivals, and ESPN rankings.

247Sports — 3 star (88 rating), NR overall, #44 OT, #62 in GA

On3 — 3 star (88 rating), NR overall, #41 OT, #69 in GA

Rivals — Not Yet Rated

ESPN — Not Yet Rated

Friend of the Stripes Jamie Uyeyama does the recruit evaluations for ISD, and we trust his evals as much as anyone’s. So while the 247 Composite and the On3 Consensus don’t factor in ISD evals, we put a lot of weight on them ourselves.

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (90 rating)

Cohort

Anthonie chose the Irish over other offers from Virginia Tech, Penn State, North Carolina, Indiana, NC State, Virginia, Wake Forest, Missouri, Georgia Tech, Duke, Kansas, Louisville, Cincinatti, Tulane, Memphis, Marshall, UMass, FAU, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina, and Charlotte.

Highlights

I’m no expert on offensive line technique or footwork, but I know a mauler when I see it. He’s strong and tenacious in run blocking (self-reports 81 knockdowns throughout his junior season). Looks fairly comfortable in pass protection as well, though. He plays left tackle for his high school team, but he’ll likely shift inside at the next level. He’s a very good athlete and high-ceiling prospect.

For a real film evaluation, read ISD’s Film Don’t Lie piece.

Impact

Notre Dame should be finished at guard for the 2024 cycle now. As recently as last month, we were reading on the pay sites that the Irish were probably only looking to sign three offensive linemen this cycle. You have to think they are pushing that number up to four now, since we’re already at two guards and the real need is at offensive tackle. Look for Joe Rudolph to key in on tackle prospects from here on out with guys like Guerby Lambert, Andrew Sprague, and Styles Prescod likely being the top targets.

There are a lot of young interior prospects currently on the roster for Notre Dame right now, so Anthonie will be entering a position group that will involve multiple guys battling for spots. He’s pretty light right now, so he’ll definitely need to work on bulking up and adding 40-50 pounds. As with most offensive linemen, it’s fair to expect quiet freshman/redshirt freshman years for him. But look for him to push for playing time a couple of years after arriving on campus.

Welcome to the Irish family Anthonie!