New Kid on Block

Sure, Milton Knox had doubts. Freshmen almost always do.

But somewhere deep inside, he knew he belonged, so he stood tall when the upperclassmen belittled him, kept his composure when they became jealous and kept quiet when they taunted him.

He also proved his worth and became a starter at defensive back for Lake Balboa Birmingham, which will play Los Angeles Dorsey for the City Section division championship Friday night at the Coliseum.

“They still mess with me, but they’re cool with me now,” Knox said of the upperclassmen. “It was a challenge to earn their respect, but I love challenges, so I stuck with it and now it’s a compliment when they mess with me.”

Coach Ed Croson said that when Knox started playing with the varsity over the summer, the seniors weren’t too happy. Croson gives seniors a large leadership role, and they called a meeting with the coaches to voice displeasure.

“They had a real hard time with him in the beginning,” Croson said. “They felt a little challenged by someone so young. There was some jealousy, but I assured them that he was going to have to earn his playing time.”

Knox, 14, did just that. His first-step quickness and ability to change directions made him one of the top shut-down defensive backs in the City Section. In a 21-14 loss to Dorsey in Week 4, Knox held his own against one of the fastest teams in the Southland.

Knox slowly worked his way into a significant role on offense as Brian Stuart’s backup at tailback and had a season-best 119 yards two weeks ago in a 41-19 quarterfinal victory over Woodland Hills Taft. Last week, he matched his season high with 12 carries in a 21-0 semifinal victory over Harbor City Narbonne, and has 441 yards in 67 carries for the season.

Playing with older kids is nothing new for Knox. He was always bigger than most kids his age, so he’d play up an age group with his youth teams. Still, he played a significant role on all of those teams and said that the most difficult adjustment this season was dealing with a reduced role.

“When I first came up, I wanted to be ‘the man,’ ” he said. “But Coach sat me down and told me I wasn’t going to be the guy this year and to just try and do the little things. It was hard, but I was like, ‘yeah,’ you know. I have to put the team first.”

Croson was not surprised that Knox agreed to take a back seat. He called Knox one of the most mature freshmen he has ever coached and said his character is among the finest of any player he has coached.

Teachers at Birmingham nominate students for a citizenship award each semester, and every one of Knox’s teachers nominated him.

“It’s rare that a football player gets nominated by one teacher,” Croson said. “He got nominated by all of them.”

That character gives Croson confidence to put his freshman on the field Friday under the pressure-packed environment of a section final at the Coliseum.

“I was more worried about putting him out there in the first game,” Croson said. “He’s got 13 games under his belt now, so he’s not a freshman anymore.”

At 5 feet 9 and 195 pounds, he certainly doesn’t look like a freshman, and he’s still growing. Knox said doctors have projected that he’ll grow to about 6-1, 230 pounds, but he isn’t so sure he’ll stop there.

“At the rate I’m going, I’ll be 230 pounds tomorrow,” he said.

Which would help him fit in with the seniors, who still remind him about his freshman status with an occasional prank and good-natured ribbing about the way he runs, talks, eats and dances but welcome his company nonetheless.

Knox is so welcomed, in fact, that he joked about ditching the seniors for a new set of cronies at lunchtime.

“I see them so much, I’m sick of eating lunch with them,” he said.