In hindsight, they probably should've put in Craig for Correll sooner, too.
Comprehension a challenge for you ? No one said he is the next Zack Martin. At this stage of his career his abilities and traits are very similar to what Zack Martin's were at the same early phase of his time at ND. That's all that was said. As an ND fan one would think you would find that encouraging. No one is comparing Knapp to the current Zack Martin.
Didn’t prepare someone or didn’t have much of a choice and played the best man on the roster? Safety depth hasn’t been good from 2022-2024 from what I recall. You’re blaming him for the long OSU TD? He might have made the tackle if he was faster but two other guys messed up before him.
Yeah, not even probably. Forgot about that one, Zeke had no business starting last year. Good catch
No one is stating he will be Zack Martin and one of the best in the NFL. It's a trajectory, type of player, etc. Some times they pan out, sometimes they don't. Alt was given a trajectory of top 10 pick as a true frosh, and it happened. Knapp is given one of being a top olinemen in the country and early round pick (probably not top 10 due to height), we'll see if it happens or not. It's far from a lock, and we all know that. But he (knapp) has characteristics that are very very unique and rare.
That is correct on the OSU long TD. Yes JD and Watts were the bigger issues, but it's insane brown with the angle was that slow.
He had a chance for another pick in the endzone but I would not call that a drop. I have a hard time being mad at him for the last drive drop too since he’s a DB. Should have been caught but he’s not a receiver.
Clemson Duke Louisville ran the same D, and we didn't have any outside weapons to exploit it due to injury, talent, etc.
Yeah, I guess that's the big question. And you could go 50/50 on that, if you're speculatin'. That the freshman are just that good, or the veterans just that bad. No way to tell unless you're pretty much on the coaching staff yourself. My own cautious, more conservative reaction to these developments is to surmise, that of course the coaches would rather start veteran seniors, for every possible obvious reason. And they would only not play them because they were so unexceptional, that painful as it may be for the coaches to have to contemplate, the offense might be better off going with the younger, presumably more promising group, notwithstanding all the negatives and hazards in doing so. And that's like a coach's nightmare. To have an OL this young and inexperienced. Only resorted to out of desperation.
I wonder if that’s why Stuckey was let go. Flores did not have a good game aside from athletic ability.
We'll never know. And we'll never know if the replacement would have been worse and cost us in other games
That's the same thing as saying he's the next Zach Martin. You're starting an unheralded true frosh LT who presumably was not even recruited to play LT, and certainly was in no way expected to be a true frosh starter, which is an alarming development.... And that can be offset, if you feel the need, as far as spinning this shitty scenario goes, by hinting that this guy looks like a young Zach Martin. It's a rhetorical device. An argumentative tactic. Empty nuance. I don't give a whit what this kid is, no offense, I just don't to want to lose to A&M, or to any other beatable opponent on account of our LT getting overwhelmed week after week because our OL situation sucks and so we ended up starting a true frosh. We can fuss over what former all-time ND great OL he reminds you of later.
I’m thinking that Knapp’s athleticism makes ND more dangerous in the screen game, particularly the receiver screen game. He may be a better pass protector too if he has better foot speed and a higher football IQ than Baker. This might make ND less predictable when it comes to protecting the QB.
Apparently Knapp is one of the stronger guys on the line. Very strong from what's being reported
You know this for a fact? Kind of bogus to put this out there without having concrete proof. I’ve seen a poster on another board that knows him and his wife and was adamant that that was not true.
Just what has been reported on certain premium ND sites.
I get that basically no one would admit to that. It’s just hearsay/speculation on both ends. I’d be livid if this was out there about me and completely unfounded. Maybe it’s true. Maybe not. Best to not mention it like that IMO.
Well it was reported and talked about on a ND podcast so I'm going to mention it
ND would absolutely prefer not to have to start a true frosh LT. IMO, they gave Tosh the first crack at winning the job, but knapp is just flat out better than him. Does that mean he's good yet, no, because i don't think tosh is very good.
Well presumably he will be better and that's why he's starting. That doesn't mean he's any good. That just means he's better than TB. Which is pretty much the crux of this whole thing. Anyway, I hope he is the next Zach Martin because we could use it, and I want to make the playoff so badly this year. I don't know if ND is going to be an annual playoff contender type program, and we can't blow this chance with such an easy schedule and good defense.
Stuckey was let go very fast, and he's not coaching anywhere. He also hasn't said a word. Don't know what happened, but something did.
No it's not. Not even close. It's what people I trust have told me. I've never seen the kid play. At this juncture no one knows what he'll become. Fret all you'd like, it won't change anything. ND has three young, talented first time starters on their offensive line. As a life time fan and long time football person in various capacities that excites me.
Shitty scenario ? What a drama queen. It's college football. You have to reboot every few years. Everyone does. Instead of all the hand wringing I'm thrilled there are young talented guys ready to step up.
Of course they named Baker. You have a depth chart for a reason. They didn't hand Knapp the job, he took it.
I’m not saying they handed him the job. In the context of “how concerned are we,” it’s a little odd that Baker was given the green light and then it was switched. I’m pretty sure the coaches spoke with more confidence about Baker than just listing him #1. Then again, one could take that to mean that Knapp has really impressed. Who knows.
Is that your line of work, PR? Platitudinous PR? The subject by now has been beaten quite to death, though it is a compelling storyline, in this inaugural playoff season, MF's all-important and defining third season in charge, to have such a remarkably, and I definitely dare say alarmingly young and inexperienced starting OL. And all you have in your feeble defense of this situation is comparisons to all-time great ND players, and firm, but irrelevant proclamations that Knapp 'took' the job, and wasn't handed it, as if that means anything at all. They chose him as the starter. No one ever takes or is handed anything. That's just rhetoric. And I would submit most reasonable people would assume this transpired like it has because Tosh Baker was just plain lousy, lousy enough that the coaches felt they just could not trust him with that responsibility, and they would have liked to have handed him the job, as a fifth year guy, but he's just not good enough. And so out of desperation.... Knapp becomes the true frosh starter by default, whatever his long-term potential may or may not be.
That is not a true assessment. There is no way to know that Knapp wouldnt have overtaken Jagusah in camp if he hadnt gotten hurt. Its not like Jagusah was an All American tackle. He had 1 start in a bowl game. Its the same way no one was predicting Pendleton was gonna beat out Spindler & Coogan for guard. I think Freeman doesnt give the same benefit of doubt to the vets that Kelly did.
Yeah, it's a shitty scenario. How far do you plan on taking this unfounded, blind homer optimism? By your standards and sensibilities it would appear there are no shitty scenarios, there's just challenges! Even though CFB is the ultimate of zero sum games and only one team wins and the other one loses. So you don't want to find yourself at a stark disadvantage. Because if you lose you lose. You are not graded on a curve. There are no handicaps awarded when tallying up the score.
Chansi Stuckey .....lay off the weed especially with the players
So you're upping the ante, huh.... You're doubling down! Not only is Anthonie Knapp the next Zach Martin, one of the greatest players in NFL history, or at least a future HOFerr, and certainly one of ND's greatest OL of all time. He totally would have, or at least might have beaten out Jagusah, who himself was already being hailed by some as our next elite NFL LT prospect. We'll call him the next Ronnie Stanley. Not exactly an all time great, but still a top ten draft pick. And for all we know Knapp would have beaten him out too, had he had his rightful opportunity. He's not starting as sort of an emergency plan B, because the situation with our OL is shall we say, acute.... It's because he's awesome. A generational talent. Tosh Baker would probably start for 95% of P5 teams. And if not for the greatness of the aforementioned Jagusah, Baker would be firmly entrenched. But Knapp is just too special, too dominant, too extraordinary. And once he got a chance to strut his stuff in practice, any obstacles, including the hapless but highly credible and capable Tosh Baker, to his meteoric ascent to unquestionably justified starter status solely on his own copious merits quite naturally fell by the wayside. Simply put, Anthonie Knapp is God. And please don't take that as blasphemy. Only to say that if Eric Clapton was God, then easily Anthonie Knapp is as well....
Never said or implied Knapp was Zack Martin. I was just pointing out that Pendleton beat out 2 upper classman with game experience because of how he performed in camp and that Freeman isnt afraid to play a younger player over a vet. Take Ben Morrison he was a freshman and took Lewis's job even though Lewis had start the season before. You're making it seem that Knapp is only there because there is no one else instead of him being the best player.
I think KVA will be starting in a few weeks as well. I don't see bowen having the instincts to hold him off.
I am the Lead Conductor on the KVA train pal, you better get in line!!
Beating a 7-6 in 2023 middle of the road SEC team does not elevate anyone to a top tier.
