Anthonie Knapp injury: Notre Dame OL heads to tent during Orange Bowl vs. Penn State

Notre Dame offensive lineman Anthonie Knapp left Thursday’s Orange Bowl against Penn State in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury. He headed to the injury tent as Tosh Baker came in to replace him.

Knapp got rolled up on a Riley Leonard scramble on third down and quickly went to the sideline. From there, he limped toward the locker room for further evaluation.

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As the second quarter started to wrap up, Knapp returned to the sideline with a brace on his ankle, according to ESPN’s Molly McGrath. However, he still had a hard time walking.

“Left tackle Anthonie Knapp could hardly put any weight on his left ankle,” McGrath said on the broadcast ahead of the two-minute timeout. “They put a TayCo brace on his ankle, which was invented by their head athletic trainer, Mike Bean. Even with the brace on, he’s having a rough time walking.”

Knapp jumped into the starting lineup at the start of the year after Charles Jagusah suffered a season-ending injury. He made the most of the opportunity as a true freshman, appearing on the On3 True Freshman All-American Team and earning similar honors from ESPN for the job he did at left tackle.

However, Jagusah made his season debut Thursday night after another injury on the offensive line. Right guard Rocco Spindler left with an injury as the Notre Dame depth was further tested, opening the door for Jagusah to see his first snaps of the year.

The injuries continued to pile up for the Fighting Irish during Thursday’s game. Leonard also walked off the field and went straight into the tent after taking a massive hit out of the two-minute timeout, meaning Steve Angeli came in to replace him.

Notre Dame struggled mightily against Penn State in the first half as the Nittany Lions took full control on the line of scrimmage. The Fighting Irish faced a 10-0 deficit before Leonard’s injury, but got on the board in the final minutes of the first half after an impressive drive from Angeli. He got Notre Dame into field goal range and close to the 15-yard line thanks to some Penn State penalties. However, a sack on first down forced the Fighting Irish to kick, meaning Mitch Jeter came on for the 41-yard attempt.