McKnight Is in Position to Excel

La Palma Kennedy High football Coach Mitch Olson was looking at the college rankings the other day and as he went down the list, he ticked off teams from his mental checklist.

Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon, Tennessee ... the list goes on, and all have asked Rhema McKnight to play receiver for them.

“He has commitment letters from 16 teams in the top 20,” Olson said. “[Recruiters] are coming up saying he could be a first-round [NFL] draft choice, that they see so few guys who are the total package, who have the size, the speed, the skills, the grades, the test scores.”

The twist?

“I’m not a wide receiver anymore,” McKnight says with a smile. “I’m a quarterback.”

It is awkward to hear himself say those words, but McKnight also knows the situation is temporary. He is a quarterback out of necessity, and when his high school career is over, he’ll be back to zigzagging through secondaries and catching passes.

Kennedy’s game Thursday against Placentia Valencia was only McKnight’s third game as a quarterback.

McKnight did not play in the second half because of dehydration, but he staked Kennedy to a 14-0 halftime lead en route to a 17-13 victory.

McKnight returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, rushed 12 times for 70 yards, including a three-yard touchdown, and completed four of eight passes for 24 yards. One pass was intercepted.

McKnight’s versatility allows Kennedy to run two distinctly different offenses. One with him a quarterback, the other with him at receiver.

“I’ll step up to any challenge,” said McKnight, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder with sprinter’s speed. “A couple days after we lost to Newport Harbor [in the second round of the playoffs last year], Coach Olson said, ‘We need you at quarterback.’ I wasn’t scared, but it was just, ‘Why?”’

McKnight knows he’s a playmaker, and he loves to create on the field. That’s one reason he enjoys returning punts and kickoffs. Before Thursday’s game, McKnight had modest passing numbers, completing 10 of 20 for 118 yards with one interception. But he also had rushed for three touchdowns and more than 300 yards in two games, averaging almost 10 yards per carry.

He also had six receptions for 60 yards. As a junior, he caught 62 passes for 1,142 yards and scored 15 touchdowns--four on punt returns.

Olson takes every opportunity to take advantage of McKnight’s skills. He also starts at free safety and has three interceptions this season.

In Kennedy’s 33-19 victory over Garden Grove Pacifica last week, McKnight lined up at defensive end, got a sack, causing a fumble that he recovered leading to the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“He’s a hard worker, a smart kid, an SAT qualifier and has a B average,” Olson said. “And you know what? He’s a better person than he is an athlete.”