Newsstand: Two Notre Dame players make On3 College Football Midseason True Freshman All-American Team
The days of the narrative about Notre Dame not playing true freshmen is over. Not only are several true freshmen playing for the Fighting Irish, they’re standing out.
The midway point of the 2024-25 college football season is here, and On3 came out with its Midseason True Freshman All-American Team.
There aren’t many true freshman offensive linemen starting around the country — especially at big-time programs — which is a big reason why the Irish’s left tackle makes the list.
“Anthonie Knapp was thrust into the starting left tackle role at Notre Dame, following a preseason injury to former five-star, Charles Jagusah,” wrote On3’s Charles Power. “The true freshman has performed admirably, despite playing out of position at the toughest spot on the offensive line. Knapp has logged 296 snaps at left tackle for the No. 11 Fighting Irish, according to Pro Football Focus. He played his best game to date in week five against Louisville, allowing zero pressures. Knapp ranked as a blue-chip outlier for On3 in the 2024 cycle, finishing as the No. 97 overall prospect and No. 5 interior offensive lineman in the On300.”
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Knapp emerging as a key contributor for the 2024 Notre Dame football team is a surprise. But the Irish’s first-year linebacker from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco was certainly expected to play a big role this fall going into the season.
“Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was viewed as one of the most ready to play linebacker prospects in the 2024 cycle,” Power wrote. “He’s lived up to that expectation, carving out playing time in Notre Dame’s experienced defensive unit. Viliamu-Asa has logged 131 snaps – at least 23 in every game – according to Pro Football Focus. The true freshman has made plenty of plays, too. He’s tallied 16 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. Viliamu-Asa looks to be next up at linebacker for the Fighting Irish. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder finished as the No. 43 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking.”
Notre Dame tweets of the day
Quote of the day
“Josh is a guy that could play either field end or vyper for us. RJ Oben and Bryce Young, obviously, have done a good job at the field end position, and Junior has done a really good job stepping up at the Vyper position, as well as Loghan Thomas getting some reps. And so you have five quality individuals that can play the end position for us. And we’ve got to have guys step up, just like Junior has done. And I’m confident that if something would happen again that we’ll have to have another guy step up.”
— Irish head coach Marcus Freeman on if Joshua Burnham will play both defensive end positions and other options at vyper
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