Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Knox's numbers puts him among college football's best
10/24/2019 7:22:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Sophomore running back is in top 20 nationally in rushing yards
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Brenden Knox sat down on a folding chair outside of the locker room at FAU Stadium last Friday night.
Yes, he took a breather. Can one blame him?
"I'm going to feel it tomorrow," he said before meeting with the media following Marshall's 36-31 come-from-behind win at FAU in which Knox rushed for a career-high 220 yards, the second-most in the nation last week. Knox's final 17 yards came on his 23rd carry, a touchdown in which he ran up the middle – when the entire stadium knew he'd get the ball – and muscled his way through tackles and into the end zone.
At that moment, the Legend of Brenden Knox added another chapter. Considering he's a sophomore with 12 games of experience at running back, this book could get rather lengthy.
"It's unreal," Marshall senior offensive lineman Levi Brown said. "As an offensive lineman, you are responsible for your guy and your linebacker. We've got five people and we can block five or six with our tight ends. There's two safeties high and he's got to make a play on one of them to get at least 6 yards. You watch him break a linebacker tackle, then stiff-arm a safety, then hurdle over someone and go 30 yards.
"Just to see it happen off of his extra effort is unreal."
As Marshall (4-3 overall, 2-1 Conference USA) prepares to host Western Kentucky (5-2, 4-0 C-USA) this Saturday at 2:30 p.m., Knox will look to add to his impressive start – season and career – on Homecoming. The Hilltoppers have the No. 22 rush defense in the nation, and haven't allowed an individual 100-yard rusher in nine games.
"He's the same person every day," Marshall offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey said of Knox. "What you see him do on Saturdays is what he does Monday through Thursday; what he does through 15 spring practices; what he does in fall camp.
"That's how he's been since I met him. That's what he did sitting behind the other three guys last year. That's who he is. That's how he was raised."
Knox, who is listed at 6 feet tall and 220 pounds, did not debut as a running back until the ninth game of last season – Nov. 10 vs Charlotte. Through 12 games as a running back, Knox has 213 carries for 1,297 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has eclipsed 100 rushing yards six times, and is already one of four players in Marshall history with a pair of 200-yard rushing games. No player has ever had three.
He is not only making waves within the program. Knox won Conference USA's Offensive Player of the Week award after his 220-yard, two-touchdown effort at FAU.
Since Dec. 1 of last season – Marshall played at Virginia Tech and in the Gasparilla Bowl against USF last December – Knox is one of five college football players with at least 1,000 rushing yards. The other four players are household names: Oklahoma State's Chuba Hubbard, Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor, Clemson's Travis Etienne and Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins. Hubbard is the 2019 rushing leader, and Taylor and Etienne finished in the top 10 in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 2018.
"Knox is obviously a great person as well as a great running back," Brown said. "He's the kind of guy who is always going to do his job and never complain about anything. Knox brings a lot to this offense, but more importantly he brings a level-headedness to everything.
"He's a complete running back and someone we really enjoy as a running back."
This season, Knox is No. 16 nationally in rushing yards (719) and No. 18 in rushing yards per game (102.7). He has 24 running plays of 10-plus yards, which is tied for seventh nationally. He has seven rushing plays of 20-plus yards, which is tied for No. 15 nationally. He has four plays of 30-plus yards, which is No. 12 nationally. He is tied for No. 20 with seven rushing touchdowns. In October, his 423 rushing yards is fourth in the country.
Against FAU, Knox has 163 of his 220 rushing yards after initial contact.
"You can see it during a play," Brown said. "That's what makes it so cool. I'm standing 10 yards behind Knox and I'll watch him shove someone into the ground. We'll get together as an offensive line on Sundays after a lift and watch film. He's so strong and he might not have the breakaway speed, but it doesn't matter because no one wants to tackle that man come the fourth quarter. That's what he does best."
This season, Knox averages 5.9 yards per rushing attempt in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, he averages 7.1 yards per carry. Those numbers surprise no one who sees the Ohio native work every day.
"Me and Brenden were in the same freshman class," said Isaiah Green, Marshall's starting quarterback. "He's never going to quit on a rep or miss a rep. He's the same person every day. He's an example for all of us."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
