Trevor A. Knight (born October 3, 1993) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...
and
Texas A&M Aggies
The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...
. After leading Oklahoma to an 8–5 record in the 2014 season, he lost the starting job in an open quarterback competition to Texas Tech transfer
Baker Mayfield
Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma Sooners ...
prior to the 2015 season. On January 4, 2016, it was announced that Knight would transfer to Texas A&M University.
Following his college career, Knight went undrafted in 2017 and was signed by the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
. He later spent the 2017 season on the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
practice squad before joining the
Arizona Hotshots
The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their ...
of the
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...
in 2018, until the league ceased operations in April 2019.
Early years
Knight attended
Ronald Reagan High School in
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. While at Ronald Reagan High School, he played for the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team. As a senior, he threw for 2,092 yards and 27
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
with 943 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. He was ranked as the sixth-best dual-threat quarterback recruit by the
Rivals.com
Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was found ...
recruiting network. Trevor has a fraternal twin brother, Connor, who was a longsnapper/fullback for Oklahoma. They played alongside each other for Trevor's entire time with the Sooners; however, Connor elected to stay at OU when Trevor transferred to Texas A&M.
College career
Oklahoma
On February 1, 2012, Knight committed to the University of Oklahoma under head coach
Bob Stoops
Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through ...
.
Knight was
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
for the 2012 season.
He was named the Sooners starting quarterback as a redshirt freshman in 2013.
He was named MVP of the
2014 Sugar Bowl
The 2014 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on Thursday, January 2, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 80th annual Sugar Bowl, it featured the #10 (AP ranked), #11 (BCS ranked) Oklahoma Sooners of ...
when he helped lead Oklahoma to a 45–31 upset of two-time reigning national champion
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
. Knight threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns in a record-setting performance.
He began the 2014 season against
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...
, completing 19 of 34 passes for 253 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. In addition, he had four rushes for 17 yards.
On December 11, 2015, it was announced that Knight had obtained a full release from his scholarship and would explore his options to transfer to another school. Despite his intentions to transfer, Knight indicated he would remain a member of the team at least until the completion of Oklahoma's
2015 season.
Texas A&M
On January 4, 2016, Knight announced he would be transferring to
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
. He graduated from Oklahoma in December 2015 and was eligible to play immediately at Texas A&M.
Knight made his Texas A&M debut on September 3, 2016, against
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, which Texas A&M won in overtime by a score of 31–24.
Knight was thought to be out for the year with a shoulder injury, but made a return on senior night against
LSU
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
. In the 54–39 loss to the Tigers, he was 14-of-30 for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
Statistics
Professional career
Knight received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed all the combine drills and positional drills. He finished first among all quarterbacks in the vertical jump, broad jump, and had a
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
time of 4.54. His time was also faster than some running backs including
Tennessee's Alvin Kamara
Alvin Mentian Kamara (born July 25, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers after transferring from Hutchi ...
. His passing drills were described as mediocre and mildly inconsistent. To prepare for the combine, Knight worked out with
Dallas Cowboys' quarterback
Dak Prescott
Rayne Dakota Prescott (; born July 29, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning first-team ...
throughout the offseason, who was able to shed the idea of a limited dual-threat quarterback. After showcasing his physical ability at the combine, multiple teams approached him about the possibilities of converting to wide receiver or safety. He immediately dispelled those notions and claimed he wanted to stick to quarterback. On March 30, 2017, Knight participated at Texas A&M's pro day, along with
Jermaine Eluemunor
Jermaine Eluemunor ( ; born 13 December 1994) is an English professional American football offensive tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and high school footbal ...
,
Justin Evans,
Myles Garrett
Myles Lorenz Garrett (born December 29, 1995) is an American professional football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, receiving unanimous All-American ...
,
Daeshon Hall
Daeshon Hall (born June 14, 1995) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas A&M.
Early life
Hall attended Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington and Lancaster High School in Lancaster, ...
,
Ricky Seals-Jones,
Josh Reynolds, and seven others. Over 50 team representatives and scouts from the NFL attended as Knight was impressive throughout his passing drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, he was projected to be a seventh round pick or a priority
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
. He was ranked the 15th best quarterback prospect by NFLDraftScout.com.
Arizona Cardinals
On April 29, 2017, the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
signed Knight to a three-year, $1.66 million contract after he went undrafted in the
2017 NFL draft
The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
. Throughout training camp, he competed with veteran
Blaine Gabbert
Blaine Williamson Gabbert (born October 15, 1989) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers before leaving early for the 2011 NFL draft after his junior year. He was selected by the Jack ...
for the job as the third-string quarterback behind
Carson Palmer
Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy as ...
and
Drew Stanton
Drew Emeric Stanton (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft ...
. He was waived by the team on September 2, 2017, as a part of final roster cuts.
Atlanta Falcons
On September 7, 2017, Knight was signed to the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
' practice squad. Knight later underwent back surgery.
Arizona Hotshots
In November 2018, Knight was selected by the
Arizona Hotshots
The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their ...
with the sixth-overall pick of the
2019 AAF QB Draft
The AAF QB draft was the only draft for the Alliance of American Football (AAF), held in advance of the 2019 season. The draft was a four-round quarterback draft where clubs were allowed to "protect or pick" from the selection. It was held on No ...
.
Knight began the
2019 AAF season
The 2019 AAF season was the only season in the history of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began on February 9, 2019. A ten-week regular season was scheduled for each of the league's eight teams.
On April 2, multiple sources ind ...
as the Hotshots' backup to
John Wolford
John Thomas Wolford (born October 16, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and signed with the Ne ...
. In addition to his relief duties, Knight served as a
jammer
Jammer may refer to:
Signal blocking devices
* Radar jammer, a device used in radar jamming and deception
* Radio jammer, a device used in radio jamming
* Radio-controlled Improvised Explosive Device jammer, a counter-IED device
* Mobile phon ...
on
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
, lining up for the punt return unit. Due to the AAF ceasing operations 8 weeks into the inaugural season, Knight became a free agent.
Career statistics
References
External links
Oklahoma Sooners bioTexas A&M Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Trevor
1993 births
Living people
Players of American football from San Antonio
American football quarterbacks
Oklahoma Sooners football players
Texas A&M Aggies football players
Arizona Cardinals players
Atlanta Falcons players
San Antonio Commanders players
Arizona Hotshots players