Notre Dame has finalized its depth chart ahead of its Week 1 showdown against Texas A&M.
Depth charts are always of great interest — especially at the start of a new season. But that’s especially true of this Notre Dame depth chart, as fans and media have been waiting to see who the Fighting Irish plan to start at left tackle.
The answer, as it turns out, is true freshman offensive tackle Anthonie Knapp. He beat out Tosh Baker for the starting job following Charles Jagusah’s season-ending injury during fall camp.
In another semi-surprise, sophomore Sam Pendleton has won the left guard job. He beat out Rocco Spindler for that job during fall camp. Notre Dame’s entire offensive line has combined for 6 career starts entering this weekend’s trip to Texas A&M.
Here’s the full depth chart:
The @NDFootball depth chart for this weekend’s game at Texas A&M.
Saturday | Aug. 31 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC pic.twitter.com/YiBMGipvzx
— Notre Dame Football PR Team (@NDFootballPR) August 26, 2024
Knapp and Pendleton winning starting jobs isn’t a total surprise, however. Reporters in South Bend previously noted that they were starting with the first unit during fall camp sessions that were open to the media.
Those starts come from center Ashton Craig (3) and right guard Billy Schrauth (3). Knapp will be making his collegiate debut against the Aggies. Pendleton and right tackle Aamil Wagner will be making their first-career starts at Kyle Field.
Texas A&M figures to be a very difficult matchup for any inexperienced offensive line — let alone one as green as this Fighting Irish unit.
The betting line in this game has moved significantly over the past few weeks as the ripple effects of Jagusah’s injury have become more clear. Notre Dame was once favored in this matchup, but is now a 3-point underdog on Saturday according to the latest lines at DraftKings.
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Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
