Even as a backup, Knight still leads
Trevor Knight enrolled in a course this semester called “What Makes a Team Work,” an upper-division class in OU’s Price College of Business.
Considering the ups and downs of his college football career — and his even-keeled attitude regardless of circumstances — he might well be qualified to teach the course. So it should come as no surprise that Knight was the first student to speak up in class.
The instructor — OU women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale — split the class into random five-person groups, and asked each individual to tell their group three things about themselves. Then one group member introduced all five of his groupmates to the larger class.
“Trevor was the leader of his group,” Coale said. “Trevor’s group volunteered to go first. “Of course and of course.” And of course, Knight has remained one of Oklahoma’s team leaders despite losing the preseason quarterback derby to Baker Mayfield. His teammates voted him a captain, a rare occurrence for a backup quar- terback but not so surprising for this backup quarterback.
It also won’t be surprising to see Knight as one of Mayfield’s most enthusiastic sideline supporters Saturday, when the Sooners open the season against Akron.
“It’s not easy, just given the circumstances,” Knight said of staying positive despite losing the preseason position battle. “But whatever is going to make the Sooners get the W on Satur- days is what I’m all about.
“I’m excited about this group. I’m excited about the weapons we have on the outside, the weapons we have in the backfield and really just the way the whole team is playing right now.”
Knight also has the benefit of having been through this before. He beat Blake Bell out for the job two preseasons ago, then lost it because of a knee injury and inconsistent play.
Knight took back over the starting job later that season and led OU to a huge upset victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, even earning game Most Valuable Player honors.
That performance alone created monster expectations for Knight in 2014, but he struggled most of last season, missed three games with a scary neck injury and threw three interceptions in an ugly 40-6 Russell Athletic Bowl loss to Clemson.
Coale has taught this team-building course the last three years and is responsible for choosing the curriculum. She said of the 41 students in this year’s class, only about five or six are athletes.
“I don’t know what his role will end up being on the team this year and I don’t think he knows, and the coaches probably don’t know right now,” Coale said. “But I think there will be a time where he will look back on this year, and he’ll see that it was maybe his finest hour as a collegiate athlete.”