Priority Offensive Lineman Visits NC State
NC State’s offensive line recruiting board has really taken shape over the last month and one of the prospects the Pack has honed in on is Roswell (GA) OL Anthonie Knapp .
State offered Knapp (6-4, 265 pounds) back in late January joining the likes of Penn State, Virginia Tech, Duke, Wake Forest, UNC, Louisville and Cincinnati among others.
This past weekend Knapp made the trip to North Carolina and was able to knock out visits to all three schools in the triangle. First up was Duke.
“Well, I thought Duke was honestly amazing because I was the only recruit there,” Knapp told Inside Pack Sports. “I got to see the team get their morning workout in. It was an agility day -- It was pretty light, so there weren't pads, but they showed me around the campus. The campus is amazing -- that's how Duke is but the facilities were great; I talked to all the coaches, they're very nice, and it's definitely a cool experience.”
From there Knapp headed over to NC State and got his initial look at the Wolfpack.
“Well, it's a cool thing about coming from Duke,” said Knapp. “Duke was very nice and it gives that kind of wine and cheese vibe and then coming straight into NC State it felt more blue collar and kind of at home, especially coming from Georgia. But walking in, it was very nice. Very nice.
“The coaches greeted me immediately, I got to see the new weight room. We went to practice later that day and it was funny, though, because I saw one of my buddies, Nykahi Davenport. But we went to practice later that day. I got to meet all the players, and it was really cool, especially watching Coach Tujague and seeing him in action. I think that's very important–, especially if you are looking at school, taking interest in it, you want to see what the school just shows you. It's very cool to see the whole team in action.”
Wolfpack offensive line coach Garett Tujague has definitely brought a newfound sense of energy to recruiting and that’s something that’s become readily apparent to recruits.
“Coach Tujague definitely has a lot of emotion and high energy. He cares a lot about his players, and I think that's very important. I know a whole bunch of coaches say that but he's always texting me, making sure I'm having a good day and always trying to make me a better player by giving me some great advice. But very high energy -- he likes to connect with his players on a personal level, which I think is very cool. I just feel like that makes the whole experience way better.”
After seeing NC State, Knapp made the short trip over to UNC for their matchup with Duke followed by spring practice the next day.
Going to the Duke game was insane -- the atmosphere, and that's just what makes all these schools a lot harder to choose from. Every school has its own cool thing to offer. The atmosphere was amazing, especially such a rivalry like that that’s been going on forever – it’s hard to miss, but the practice was great too because you get to meet these coaches, and their job is to recruit you because they want you to play for them but seeing what they're like in practice is very important to me because if I plan on going there one day, that's who I'm being coached by. And that's how players develop the best. Watching Coach Clem coach his offensive line; It's cool seeing how his coaching techniques are and how he develops his line and how the whole practice runs and definitely meeting Coach Brown was a great experience.”
Up next for Knapp are trips to Georgia Tech this weekend, Penn State on the 18th and Virginia on the 25th.
Knapp knows these early visits will be critical in determining where he’ll make his official visits in a couple of months.
“This March is very important for me to figure out because I'll make a top five pretty soon. I plan on getting this process over with pretty soon because I want to commit a little bit earlier. I still have to talk to my family about officials and all that.”
So when it comes time to name that top five, will NC State make the cut?
“As of right now, I definitely do. But at the same time, I'm not really keeping favorites because I still have to visit about three other schools. Right now, I'm just comparing, contrasting, taking notes of these schools. But NC State definitely does have that potential. I would say 100%, especially because Coach Tujague and Coach Doeren are great.”
One last question. Have you thought at all about what you're planning to major in once you get to college?
Knapp plans to major in Business or Marketing in college. On3 rates Knapp as a three-star prospect and the No. 41 offensive tackle in the nation.
