Slimmer Knittig has found new gear for Hilltops
His days as a O -line hoggie are well behind him.
A slimmer, trimmer Garth Knittig has emerged on the Saskatoon Hilltops this season.
Knittig — who played on both sides of the ball during his high school days — has solidified his spot on the defensive line.
While the fourth-year Hilltop remains listed as an offensive lineman on the team’s website, he’s become an anchor on the D -line during the past two seasons at the nose tackle position.
“That’s my spot — nobody’s taking that from me,” says Knittig, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 275 pounds, but has dropped 35 pounds from last season. “I just want to play with a motor. If you have a motor, man, you can just work through guys and it’s a lot easier.”
Knittig is seeing the results. He’s had a hand in 27 tackles, as well as 1.5 quarterback sacks, through seven games.
“It feels better,” he says of his lighter, more conditioned frame. “Even the start of the year was a lot better than most years, so it was nice to get off to a fast pace.
“If I was a little heavier, I might not have got that guy (from the Edmonton Huskies in the last home game), but I got him.”
Toppers head coach Tom Sargeant is certainly glad he’s got Knittig in the fold.
“It’s been fun to have him,” said Sargeant. “Just a good guy. I love being around him. He was going to be our nose guard all along, to be honest, and he was last year, too. He’s played that for a couple of years. He’s good at getting down and dirty. He’s good at getting off the ball and getting off blocks. He’s a presence and he’s one of our main run-stoppers.”
Sargeant remembers when Knittig first came to the Hilltops as “one of those two-way players” from a nine-man high school football program in Delisle. When am opportunity arose on the D -line, Knittig was quick to fill the void.
“We certainly had a hole in the nose guard scenario,” noted Sargeant. “It’s amazing how, when we put Garth there and after a year of development, he’s just taken that role over. Once again, he’s had a phenomenal off-season. He shredded 20-25 pounds. In one of our games, he ended up with 1516 (defensive) points. You don’ see that very often from a nose tackle., that sort of playmaking from the nose position. It’s fun to watch him play. He’s key to that defence.”
Knittig says there wasn’t too much of a big transition from nineman high school football to junior football because of the good coaching out in Delisle.
“They set us up right and got us going in the off-season and really encouraged us to play post-secondary (football),” said Knittig. “A lot of good guys come out of there.”
The Hilltops, at 7-0 and dominant this season in the Canadian Junior Football League’s Prairie Football Conference, have a lot of good guys coming out of their program, too. They’re shooting for a fifth straight Canadian Bowl championship.
“This team is special, man,” said Knittig. “We’ve got a good group of guys.”
TOP-UPS: Hilltops running back Josh Ewanchyna is the PFC player of the week for the third consecutive week. He was a major factor in the Hilltops’ seventh win of the season with 22 carries for 187 yards and three touchdowns.