Notebook: Adding transfer QB was simply supply and demand for Texas A&M
HOOVER, Ala. – How graduate transfer quarterback Trevor Knight landed at Texas A&M is a classic example of supply and demand.
When Knight decided to depart Oklahoma in the wake of the emergence of former walk-on Baker Mayfield, who finished fourth in the 2015 Heisman Trophy race, he contacted Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin in early December about the possibility of renewing his career in College Station.
At the time, Texas A&M had a pair of five-star quarterbacks on the roster - Kyler Murray (made his first career start vs. South Carolina in 2015) and Kyle Allen (nation’s No. 1 pro-style QB prospect in 2014).
Thanks, but no thanks Sumlin politely told Knight, a fifth-year senior.
Within a week, everything changed.
Murray and Allen stunned Aggie Nation by announcing they would transfer before Texas A&M faced Louisville in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in Nashville, forcing Sumlin to start third-string quarterback Jake Hubenak against the Cardinals.
Hubenak threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, but turned the ball over twice and was sacked five times in Texas A&M’s 27-21 loss to Louisville.
Suddenly, a highly visible position that seemed secure for years two weeks previously with Murray and Allen had been thrown in chaos. Texas A&M faced the real possibility of having to start a true freshman (2016 signee Nick Starkel) this coming season.
When Knight and Sumlin talked again, the head coach’s tone had completely changed. Knight soon signed with Texas A&M, joined the program in January and was named the Aggies’ starting quarterback in April two days after he completed 25-of-36 passes for 282 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the Aggies’ spring game.
“I called Coach Sumlin and he was very upfront and honest with me that he had two quarterbacks on campus at that point that they felt comfortable with,” said Knight, who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Oklahoma and is pursuing a master’s degree in management at Texas A&M.
“Fast forward a week or so and the situation was quite different. Thus, our phone calls after that were a little different as well. They changed dramatically. We had more recruiting like conversations and kept moving forward. I had to decide the best place for me for my senior year. After praying and thinking about it, I decided it was Texas A&M.”
Knight stopped short of saying Sumlin “begged” him to join the Aggies after their two high-profile quarterbacks exited College Station. When Knight enrolled in school, Texas A&M had just one scholarship quarterback on the roster – Hubenak.
“Obviously, they needed another guy and I was a guy able and willing to play,” Knight said. “Everything has fallen into place with being named the starter and other things dealing with relationships off the field. My transfer process has been pretty unique. It’s been a leap of faith in a lot of ways, but looking back on it, it has been perfect.”
Ironically, Murray transferred to Oklahoma, signing with the Sooners shortly before Christmas.
Until signing with Texas A&M, Knight was best known for leading Oklahoma to a stirring Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama as a redshirt freshman on January 2, 2014, throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns, capturing MVP honors in the biggest game of his career.
In three seasons at Oklahoma, Knight threw for 3,424 yards and 25 touchdowns with 19 interceptions in 27 games for the Sooners. His best season was 2014 when he started 10 of 13 games for Oklahoma and threw for 2,300 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“I had to come in and show the (Texas A&M) guys my work ethic,” Knight said. “That is a good way to earn respect. I think I did that both in the weight room and in film study. I also tried to get to know my teammates as people by having one-on-one conversations. That earns respect as well. The people and culture at Texas A&M has welcomed me with open arms, which has made it easy on me.”
Barring an injury, Gamecock fans will get a look at Knight in action when Texas A&M visits Columbia for an Oct. 1 matchup with South Carolina, the first of five straight home games for the Gamecocks.
Growing up in San Antonio (he was a 4-star prospect from Reagan High School), the opportunity to play for Texas A&M serves as a homecoming of sorts for Knight, who has already emerged as a team leader, hence the opportunity to represent Texas A&M at SEC Media Days even though he has yet to appear in a game for the Aggies.
“Trevor Knight has come into our program and really shown a maturity level that we thought that he would have as a graduate transfer,” Sumlin said Tuesday. “He’s a guy who has won big games, has been involved in high-level competition, and obviously has been through some lows like losing his job to Baker Mayfield.
(“This) was a situation where Texas A&M filled a void for Trevor Knight as a guy who wanted to play as a graduate transfer at a high level, be around a program he thought fit his skill set with some coaches he thought fit his skill set and some teammates that he wanted to play with. And it got him a little bit closer to home.
“For us, it was a great match and has led to a drama-free offseason.”
NOTES
-- Noel Mazzone takes the reins as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator in 2016. Another irony? Mazzone’s immediate former employer is UCLA (offensive coordinator from 2012-15), Texas A&M’s opening game opponent in College Station on Sept. 3. “(He is) a guy I’ve known for a number of years, a guy I’ve worked with during my career and have stayed in touch with,” Sumlin said. “(Mazzone) gives us an opportunity philosophically to be on the same page as a guy with a lot of experience.”
-- ESPN senior vice president Rosalyn Durant revealed two new films in the “SEC Storied” collection scheduled to air on consecutive Tuesdays in September. The first, “No Experience Required," documents the story of the famed 12th Man tradition and Texas A&M’s 1983 kickoff team. The second film, "Repeat after Us," chronicles Florida basketball’s back-to-back national Championships in 2006 and 2007.
-- Gamecock linebacker T.J. Holloman was named to the preseason Butkus Award Watch List on Tuesday. Holloman, a 6-2, 230-pound senior from Stone Mountain, Ga., has played in 36 games over the past three seasons with 16 starts. He has 140 career tackles with 10.0 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, five interceptions and three recovered fumbles. He was named the Dr. Harris Pastides Outstanding Student-Athlete Representative at the 2016 Garnet & Black Spring Game.
-- South Carolina has implemented a clear bag policy for all ticketed athletic events beginning in 2016-17 that is similar to those in the NFL and many other college and professional stadiums. The new policy limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into the venues for baseball, men's and women's basketball, football, men's and women's soccer, softball and volleyball.
