Santos-Knox ready for encore
Defender’s road trip to attend tryout camp resulted in Winnipeg job
Were it not for a little encouragement from his father, Jovan Santos-Knox might have never played a snap for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Santos-Knox completed his senior season with the University of Massachusetts and wasn’t sure which direction his football career was going to go. What he knew for sure was that he wanted to play professionally and the options were pretty straightforward.
Santos-Knox had already attended a tryout camp with the Calgary Stampeders and was going to participate in another for the Montreal Alouettes.
But when his father Byron located a Blue Bombers camp in Charlotte, N.C., he suggested to his son it was time for a road trip.
“I drove down with my father and it was just normal, we just talked. I was putting my best foot forward because I knew I could play at this level. But when you don’t get those calls (from teams), you start questioning yourself a little bit,” Jovan Santos-Knox said Monday, following Day 9 of Bombers training camp.
“My father always reassured me that I belonged. What I was doing on that drive there was getting a highlight tape together. I had the laptop open, had iMovie open and was putting a mix together for (assistant GM and director of U.S. scouting) Danny McManus to show him.
“Making that nine-hour drive, it really changed my life. I could have skipped it, but my father said he would drive and he said ‘Let’s go.’ I’m so grateful for that. Without that, who knows where I would be right now.”
Playing the what-if game can be dangerous in the fleeting world of professional football, where things can change at a moment’s notice.
During his first CFL season, there was the usual transition process for Santos-Knox, who started the campaign on the practice roster but ended up making quite an impact, suiting up in 16 games and making 47 defensive tackles, adding two sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble to go along with 19 special-teams tackles.
What will Santos-Knox do for an encore?
That’s a tough question to answer, but it’s not tough to envision Santos-Knox as an impact player.
Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea sees something in Santos-Knox that is quite common among players coming back for a second season.
“Everything slows down,” O’Shea
said. “His understanding of what he needs to do, his understanding of the playbook, his knowledge of the CFL, offensive systems, he’s a smart guy.
“Just a great character (that) his teammates enjoy being around. But that growth from first to second year is pretty constant for every second year guy.”
Santos-Knox says he spent a good chunk of the off-season breaking down tape and looking for ways to improve.
“Being able to watch the film and correct myself during the off-season
definitely helped,” he said. “Now that I understand the concepts and the scheme a lot better, I feel like I’m able to move around a lot faster. I understand the playbook like the back of my hand and it’s coming naturally.”
Santos-Knox and Kyrie Wilson are battling for the starting job at Will linebacker.
After starting the final eight games of the 2017 season and the firstround playoff game against the B.C. Lions, Santos-Knox would appear to have the inside track.
Not that he’s about to take anything
for granted.
“I want to run fast, execute our scheme and play as hard as I can. Everything else will take care of itself if I do that,” he said. “Being able to adjust (to the CFL) last year was good, but this year, I can definitely take another step forward with my game.”
Being part of a 12-6 season with the Blue Bombers was a great experience for Santos-Knox after the victories were few and far between during his college career.
“I lost two games in my whole high school career and I could count on
both hands the number of wins I got in my four years (at UMass),” said Santos-Knox, who grew up in Middletown, Conn. “But it was definitely a great learning experience for me. It showed that when things got tough, it shows the type of player that you are. I took pride in still going out there every day with the will to win and executing and doing my best.
“From there, to coming here and being part of a winning team is humbling. You appreciate each win and everything that you do.”