While many teams across the country have had to use some of its true freshman earlier than anticipated, Notre Dame’s injury woes has been a blessing in disguise as it has found a pair that will have great careers in South Bend.
On Monday afternoon, On3 named its midseason true freshman All-American team with offensive tackle [autotag]Anthonie Knapp[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa[/autotag] both making the cut.
The tackle has started every game so far for the Irish, and head coach Marcus Freeman has raved about his progress. He’s said many times that Knapp has improved every week, as he gets more accustomed to the collegiate game.
While KVA isn’t a starter like his teammate, he’s still had a major impact on the Notre Dame defense. In limited time this fall, he’s already made 16 stops with a sack and an interception. If the players ahead of him weren’t playing at a high level, we’d probably be seeing Viliamu-Asa trotting out with the starting lineup.
While this is a great honor, it’s just at the midpoint of the season and both of them will have to continue to play at a high level to earn full season honors while helping the Irish continue to win games.
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