The future is bright in South Bend, and Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman not being afraid to play freshman has paid off big dividends.
Late last week, ESPN’s Tom Luginbill named three Irish freshman as All-American’s (subscription required), offensive tackle [autotag]Anthonie Knapp[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa[/autotag], and defensive back [autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag].
Knapp has been a day-one starter as Luginbill credited his early enrollment and “acumen” as to why he was so successful during his first season with Notre Dame. Viliamu-Asa has been great, as he said that what put him on the list was his “size and length to rush off the edge, but he’s also been effective as a run-stopper and even flashed in coverage.”
As for Moore, he’s also been impressive in multiple phases of his game. Luginbill highlighted his “ball skills and a penchant for disruptive plays,” as a big reason why Moore was named as an All-American.
Multiple other freshman like running back Aneyas Williams and defensive end Bryce Young have flashed as well, and although they weren’t named to the team, their futures are still very bright.
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