By Pat Yaskinskas
Tampa’s Erriyon Knighton just might fall into the rarest category of athletes. He simply is too fast for football.
If there was any doubt remaining, Knighton proved there should be none on July 21. The 18-year-old earned a bronze medal in the 200 meters at the World Athletics Championship at Eugene, Ore., to show he’s one of the fastest men in America and in the world.
Knighton’s chief rival, Noah Lyles, won the event in 19.31 seconds to break Michael Johnson’s American male record (19.32 seconds) set at the 1996 Olympics. The only sprinters in history with better times in the 200 meters are Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake.
Knighton, a Hillsborough High product, still became the youngest American sprinter ever to earn a medal at the World Athletics Championships. Knighton already had beaten Bolt’s world record for the fastest 200 meters world record (by nearly half a second) in the 18-and-under division in 2021.
At the 2022 Summer Olympics, Knighton became the youngest American male to represent the U.S. since Jim Ryun in 1964. Knighton finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics.
So why isn’t Knighton, who once was considered a four-star recruit in football, getting ready to head off and play wide receiver or safety for some college powerhouse?
Well, big-time programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee and all the other usual suspects that seem to be able to smell speed were interested in Knighton. And playing at schools like those usually increases the chances of an NFL career, especially for guys with world-class speed.
After all, college and National Football League coaches will tell you there is no such thing as being too fast. NFL general managers build their draft boards around 40-yard dash times and NFL scouts don’t go anywhere without their stopwatch because speed is a rare gift.
But Knighton decided he didn’t want any more of football and cut off the recruiting process. To put it simply and in more accurate terms, Knighton ran away from the college football recruiters while he still was on top.
In January of 2021, while still a junior at Hillsborough, Knighton signed a sponsorship deal with Adidas. That meant he had to give up his final two years of track and field and his last season of football at Hillsborough.
Aside from his rare speed, Knighton really wasn’t cut out to play football at the next level. College and pro teams always are open to 6-foot-3 receivers like Knighton. But not when they come in rail-thin 164-pound packages like Knighton because that often is a formula for injury-filled careers.
NFL receivers that are Knighton’s height usually carry anywhere from 20 to 40 more pounds than he does. Sure, time in the weight room can bring extra muscle and pounds, but it also can slow you down.
Knighton made the smart decision. He already is a professional in a sport that doesn’t come with the dangers of football. Plus, Knighton already is drawing rave reviews from observers and track coaches.
They say he could end up being better than Lyles. They say he could end up being better than Bolt. They say Knighton could end up being the best ever.
