Interview: Bakersfield WR/PR Faizon Knight Making the Most of JUCO Opportunity

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

America lost sports icon Yogi Berra on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The all-time New York Yankees great was an 18-time All-Star, appeared in 14 World Series winning 10, and cemented a place in sports and pop culture history with his famous quotes. While Berra’s quotes are greatly amusing and funny many of his “isms” have meaning related to sports that are relevant and poignant.

The story of Bakersfield Community College wide receiver/punt returner Faizon Knight evokes a few Berra quotes that can serve as a reminder to all of us about our own individual plights and our own personal belief system.

Knight started out at Palmdale High School about 45 minutes outside of Los Angeles showing flashes of his athletic ability but did not flip the proverbial switch on his high school career until his senior season with Oak Hills. The 5’10”, 185 pound, athlete was a jack of all trades during his senior season rushing for 777 yards on 82 carries with seven touchdowns, had nine receptions for 169 yards with two more scores, and played free safety logging 45 tackles and two picks. On special teams he showed off his unique skills in the open field gaining 322 punt return yards with a long of 75-yards for a score and had 352 kick return yards with a 99-yard long touchdown return helping the Bulldogs to a 10-3 season.

“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra

The beauty of the junior college system is it serves as a second chance for so many players in so many different ways. A kid can have the heart of a 5-star and maybe even play like one but needs two years in the JUCO system to hit that last growth spurt becoming a next level college player. Others may need more instruction to refine their technique, speed, and strength while others may not have taken things serious enough in the classroom during their sophomore and junior years not leaving enough time to make up ground on college entry transcripts. Knight is quick to admit he did not take life on the gridiron or in the classroom very serious until his senior season when he started to tear up opposing California high school teams.

“Baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.” – Yogi Berra

Berra’s quote can be extrapolated to any sport including football. One cannot necessarily blame Knight for night pushing harder in the classroom or on the field now knowing just how talented a person he really is, both on the field and in the classroom.

“It ain’t over til it’s over.” – Yogi Berra

Bakersfield is having a tough season at 1-6 but that should not diminish the blood, sweat, and tears that have been poured into the season by the players. Knight leads the team in receptions with 28 gaining 264 yards playing in six games. He also leads the team in kick return yards with 142 off 12 attempts, he even had a punt return for a touchdown but that was called back due to a penalty. Knight, showing his willingness to get the ball anyway possible, has two carries on the season putting one into the end zone.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I caught up with Knight before the team’s 31-15 win against Moorpark to gain insight on how his senior season went, what he is working on to prove his scholarship worthiness to Division-I recruiters, and received a recruiting update.

Interview

Faizon, in a quick overview, how did your high school career go?

“I didn’t play my first two season of high school football. When I moved I never took my grades serious. I was in a big hole. I tried to get caught back up to get an offer. A lot of schools were waiting on my grades wanting to give me an offer. My senior year, I didn’t think I was going to have the year that I was going to have so I did not take the classes that I needed to take to make up for lost time.”

You had a big senior year, give me an overview of the 2014 season.

“Again, my senior I didn’t think I was going to have the year that I was going to have. I was not the No. 1 guy in the offseason but then I exploded. After that game, my season went up hill from there. I was scoring 2-3 times a game. We were blowing a lot of teams out of the water. We beat our rivals. We played a lot of ranked teams, and we went to semifinals and lost.”

What individual honors did you earn?

“I was All-League at running back and All-Utility All-League (Mojave River League).”

Which schools were showing interest in you during your senior year?

“Boise State and UCLA were the biggest ones after me. Fresno State and San Jose State were showing a lot of interest too.”

When you finally started to tap into your abilities on the field, what made you a threat?

“Faith in my teammates. I knew everyone was there for me. I knew everyone was going to do what they had to do, the coaches were going to prepare great game plans, and the schemes were going to work.”

How has your transition from the California high school playing fields to the junior college playing fields gone for you?

“It’s been a rocky kind of thing transitioning to the college level. I’m settling in now. I’m not timid, I’m not nervous, and I’m believing in myself. I believe everything will be great the rest of this season and next season.”

What has been the most difficult part of the transition for you?

“The most difficult part has mostly been the game speed and becoming a smarter receiver, and being more physical. Those are the main things.”

You have three games left in your freshman season. Is there a game on the docket you are excited to play?

“I’m very excited to play against Cerritos and our last game against Ventura (Nov. 14). We can make a statement with those games with wins. They are two really good teams.”

What are your strengths on the field as a wide receiver?

“My quickness and my vision. I think those two are my biggest strengths.”

What goals did you set for yourself entering the 2015 season and have you met your goals?

“I didn’t do as well as I had hoped. I wanted to be a freshman All-American. But, I’m going to finish strong, keep my grades up, and learn everything that I can learn.”

How is everything in the classroom going for you so far?

“Everything is going good right now. The classes have been easy for me. School has not been that hard yet. It’s about doing the work. I feel good about school.”

You still have three games left in the season, but over the next three games and in the offseason what are some of the things you’ll work on to try to meet that goal of being a JUCO All-American?

“I’m going to work on my routes, catching in traffic, my speed, my strength – I’m going to work on being better at everything. I’m not focused on one thing. I want to have no flaws at all with my game next season.”

After having a standout season next year, when your time comes again to start looking over colleges that might be a good fit for you what will be some of the things that influence that decision?

“My major, academics have to be a big part. I want to go to a school that has my major. Any school that offers me a scholarship to keep playing ball and has my major, I’ll be blessed to go there.”

What do you want to major in while in college?

“Criminal Justice.”

Have you had an experience in your life that has inspired you with your football career?

“My family, that’s my main thing. My family is behind me. With them behind me, that changes my attitude. When my grandmother (Wanda Russell) passed away two weeks agao it turned me into a different animal on the field.”

I’m sorry to hear about your loss.

“Thank you.”

What is your favorite part of playing football?

“Playing in front of fans and playing with my teammates. Playing with guys that have the same goal as me is my favorite part.”

Faizon, thanks for your time today. Good luck over the last three.

“Thank you.”

Faizon’s career on the football field is really just starting and with that he’s starting to realize it ain’t over until it’s over, football is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical, and you’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going because you might not get there!

Photo credit: gogades.com; Faizon Knight and the Bulldogs take the field.

Photo credit: maxpreps.com; Faizon Knight finds running room on a punt return.