Punter Andrew Antognoli from Fresno, CA committed to Notre Dame on Thursday. He will enroll as a preferred walk-on meaning he will enter school guaranteed a spot on the team, but will do so without a scholarship. His commitment is an important one with the loss of four-year starter Ben Turk and just one other kicker on the roster, Notre Dame needed to add someone to bolster the depth chart.
Antognoli had been committed to play at Harvard, but saw interest heat up after his play in the Semper Fidelis All-American game. Notre Dame swooped in a grabbed him.
This commitment is big for the Fighting Irish as it allows them to bring some depth behind assumed starter Kyle Brindza without having to dedicate a scholarship as those are increasingly tight heading into Signing Day next Wednesday.
Antognoli isn't ranked by any services, but his punting coach Chris Sailer raved about him saying, ""He's a five-star punter. A top-10 nationally ranked guy. He has all the tools. Like any high school player he's unproven and will have to work on his trade. He'll work hard and has a great leg and has all the tools to be a D-1 punter."
With his pledge the Irish now have 24 players coming in, with 23 scholarships committed.
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