Former Mississippi College Standout Steven Knight Joins Green Bay Blizzard
Leaping into the end zone, Steven Knight scored a fourth quarter touchdown in his first game with the Green Bay Blizzard.
In late February, the Blizzard lost the road game 40-36 to the Bemidji Axemen in Minnesota. But things are looking up for Knight, a former Mississippi College star running back.
“I’m staying positive and still working hard,” says Knight, who wears No. 17 for the Indoor Football League team. Earlier this winter, he joined the 24-man roster in frigid Wisconsin.
The IFL pro team is the latest stop as Knight pursues his dream of landing in the National Football League or Canadian Football League. Last year, the former Northwest Rankin High standout played in Germany with the Hildesheim Invaders of the European American Football League.
In his inaugural start in Green Bay, he’s already making waves.
When the speedy 5’9” 200-pound Knight cut left, jumped and found the end zone, it momentarily gave Green Bay the lead, but the Blizzard couldn’t hold on.
It marked the first game of the pro squad’s 14-game season with Cedar Rapids, Iowa the Blizzard’s next road foe on March 8. Knight hopes to see a strong turnout of Mississippi fans in the Dallas area when the Blizzard faces Texas on March 23. It’s only a six-hour drive from the Magnolia State, and far closer than road trips to places like Colorado, Nebraska and Sioux Falls.
A regular at gyms in metro Jackson since he was a teenager, Knight, 25, pushed himself for months before joining the Green Bay Blizzard. The Pearl, Mississippi native spent many days lifting weights, and sprinting at the Jackson D1 sports facility in Madison.
During his time there, he hauled in passes from NFL draft prospects like Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. “That helped me a lot – catching and making cuts.” In Green Bay, he’s watching his diet and feasting on favorites like spinach and kale smoothies.
Getting his hands on a new Green Bay Blizzard uniform with his name printed on the back really lifted his spirits. “It’s got me feeling like the greatest,” Knight posted on his Facebook page.
Green Bay Blizzard fans are clearly overshadowed by the NFL’s iconic Green Bay Packers. An average of about 4,000 fans come to see Blizzard games in the Indoor Football League’s Resch Center. Knight can see the Packers’ famed Lambeau Field from the facility where he plays football this winter and spring.
Ticket prices for Blizzard games range from $8 to $31. Fans can expect to see lots of scoring on the field, gather plenty of autographs and get to know players on a first-name basis.
“It’s fun to be out there,” Knight says. One drawback to living in Green Bay? “It’s pretty cold out here.”
Green Bay Blizzard head coach Chad Baldwin spotted Knight playing in an all-star football game in Mexico, and asked him to take his athletic talents to Wisconsin. Two summers ago, Knight was invited to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp, but was among the last players cut by the NFL squad.
During his career with the MC Choctaws, Knight scored 23 touchdowns. That includes 13 touchdowns and rushing for 1,200 yards for the American Southwest Conference star in Fall 2011.
A transfer student from Hinds Community College, Knight also found time to hit the books. He studied criminal justice at Mississippi College.
For more information on the Indorr Football League team, go to www.greenbayblizzard.com. To follow the team on Twitter, check @BlizzardIFL.
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