Overlooked Knox never had a doubt he’d make i
Overlooked Knox never had a doubt he’d make it
NEIL HAYES ON THE BEARS .hideTime { DISPLAY: none}Jan 13, 2011 02:36AM
If you think being held without a catch against the Green Bay Packers and failing to reach the 1,000-receiving-yard milestone made Johnny Knox pout, you don’t know him very well. Few people outside the Bears’ locker room do.
Knox is a mystery man mostly because he took gravel roads to the NFL instead of the more well-traveled path. But his ability to shrug off his disappointment after failing to accomplish something no Bears receiver has done since Marty Booker in 2002 doesn’t surprise Chris Thomsen.
‘‘This guy is the same every day,’’ said Thomsen, who coached Knox at Division II Abilene Christian. ‘‘The sky could fall, and everybody would be running around going crazy, and Johnny would be saying, ‘What’s the big deal? Let’s go to practice.’ If you’re down 21 points in the third quarter, Johnny is good. If you’re up 21, no problem. Johnny is Johnny whether he’s catching 10 balls or one.’’
Devin Hester is the Bears’ only offensive skill-position regular who has playoff experience, and he was a defensive back, not a receiver, when the Bears reached Super Bowl XLI. While Knox will be participating in his first postseason game when the Seattle Seahawks visit Soldier Field for Sunday’s divisional playoff game, don’t expect the moment to swallow him up.
Despite being overlooked at every level, Knox not only never doubted he would make it to the NFL, but he expects to make big plays in big games.
‘‘The confidence has always been there,’’ Knox said. ‘‘There is really no story behind that. It’s something I’ve always had and carry with me to this day.’’
Knox’s story is an indictment of the scouting process.
Not only were no Division I teams interested in Knox after he was named first-team all-state at Channelview High School in Houston, but the junior college nearest his home didn’t offer him a chance to walk on after his tryout. Another junior college in Kansas passed before Knox landed at Tyler Junior College, where he was named an All-American by one publication.
Because he hadn’t earned his associate’s degree, he had to sit out a year to play Division I or go to a Division II school and play right away. The offensive talent Thomsen was assembling and the knowledge that Bears safety Danieal Manning had been drafted in the second round out of Abilene Christian convinced Knox he could reach the NFL a year earlier by going the Division II route.
‘‘He was overlooked coming out of high school, out of junior college and out of Abilene Christian,’’ his former college roommate, Kendrick Holloway, said. ‘‘Now he’s the leading receiver for the Bears. I mean, what’s wrong with the process?’’
Knox never lost faith in his ability even if few others shared it. That belief in himself allowed the fifth-round pick to make an impact as a receiver and Pro Bowl kick returner as a rookie last season.
It has helped him make 17 catches of 20 or more yards and finish fifth in the league with an 18.8 yards-per-catch average this season.
It’s the reason why he’s confident he can put up numbers in his first playoff game similar to the five catches for a career-high 120 yards he had when the Bears lost to the Seahawks 23-20 at Soldier Field on Oct. 17.
‘‘I remember one day, me and him were in our apartment watching an NFL game,’’ Holloway recalled, ‘‘and he was like, ‘Man, you know I’ve been under the radar all my life coming out of high school and junior college. That’s not going to hold me back. I’m still going to make it. That makes me work harder rather than second-guessing myself.’
‘‘It pushed him to become what he is today.’’
Don’t think Knox didn’t care whether he became the 12th player in team history to gain 1,000 receiving yards. He did. But he always has been able to ignore smaller setbacks while focusing on bigger accomplishments.
Thomsen remembers when his star wide receiver only had one catch in a big game against an archrival his junior year. Knox was cutting it up with teammates on the bus after the big victory, which was made possible by a huge game from Abilene Christian’s running back.
Thomsen thought this was strange and asked him about it.
‘‘ ‘Wait until you see the film,’ ’’ he remembers Knox telling him. ‘‘ ‘Wait until you see how hard I was blocking. I knew they were taking me away, and I needed to be a factor in the running game. Wait till you see some of the blocks that I made.’
‘‘I almost fell out of my seat. Receivers don’t think like that. Trust me. The guy is special.’’
