Life in the Trenches: A Game Day with Anthonie Knapp

Nobody buys a jersey with a guard’s number on it. Offensive linemen don’t get highlight reels, and the only time most fans learn their names is when a flag gets thrown.

So it’s a treat when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish YouTube channel hands the camera to one of the big guys. Their new video, “Day in the Life of Notre Dame Football Offensive Lineman Anthonie Knapp,” follows Knapp through Irish Wear Green Day last Saturday, when the third-ranked Irish rolled past Stanford 58-7.

The guy who said “I don’t care”

Knapp spent two seasons protecting the quarterback’s blind side at left tackle, earning All-America honors there last year. This spring, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph moved him inside to left guard for his third year as a starter.

Plenty of veterans would bristle at a position change. Knapp’s reaction, as Irish Sports Daily reported in April, was basically a shrug: he’s a football player, and he’ll play wherever the team needs him. He even said the switch felt like being a freshman again.

Judging by the Stanford broadcast, it’s working. Right there in the video, the TV crew singles him out as the best guy the Irish have up front, the go-to man for creating movement and opening holes for the running backs.

Inside the game day

The video runs about eight minutes, broken into chapters, and it’s worth every one.

Before kickoff, Knapp talks about what a guard’s job really is: seeing the box, reading the alignments, and communicating with his tackle and his center so all five linemen are on the same page. His goal for the day was simple. Execute, play physical, play one snap at a time, and “be that line that this team needs.”

In the locker room, the message is about the brotherhood and narrowing the focus. You can feel the energy before the team ever runs out of the tunnel.

On the field, the offense piled up roughly 600 yards. Knapp gives the credit to the running backs, but you can hear the pride when he talks about how special it is for the line to be part of something like that as a unit.

After the game, the team kneels together in prayer, Knapp visits with family and young fans, and then he reveals the lineman’s number-one postgame priority: food. He explains that you’re so nervous about the game beforehand that you can barely eat, so afterward you’re starving. Every big guy who ever played the game is nodding right now.

Why this matters this week

Next up is a road trip to Provo to face No. 8 BYU, and the battle up front is going to matter. When the Irish run the ball well on Saturday, take a second to watch the guys in the 50s, 60s and 70s. That’s where games get won.

Who’s your all-time favorite Notre Dame offensive lineman? Tell us in the comments.

Watch the original: Day in the Life of Notre Dame Football Offensive Lineman Anthonie Knapp (Notre Dame Fighting Irish on YouTube)

Go Irish! ☘️