USC’s Joe McKnight says becoming a father helped him mature

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USC tailback Joe McKnight, who will start Saturday’s opener against San Jose State, says the maturity he gained by becoming a father seven months ago has helped him on the field.

Senior Stafon Johnson said something similar about himself in a story I wrote about him last year.

McKnight and Johnson aren’t the only USC running backs who are dads.

Senior fullback Adam Goodman and his wife Jessica have been married for two years and have a 2 ½ -month-old son.

When I asked McKnight if the players exchanged stories about their children in the running backs meeting room, he said: “We don’t talk about it that much. We’re here for football. You can’t bring that personal stuff to school. We keep the family stuff out of it.”

-- Gary Klein