On Media Day, I caught up with Hunter Knighton, who will began full time work in the real world on Monday right after his college career ends. Knighton feels fortunate to be alive after a heat stroke during an offseason workout at the University Miami left him in a coma for 12 days.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-hurricanes-college-football-center/32511701/
Knighton, who has been a grad transfer at Tulane the last two years and backs up Corey Dublin at center, talked about his career and his future.
So you're starting a job on Monday?
"Yes, I'm starting a full-time job Monday. Honestly, the best benefit I've had from football is getting a free education these last six years. It's really setting me up for my future, so I was really able to land my dream job. It's a natural gas company up in Ponchatoula. I'm really excited about that. They monitor natural gas pipelines and I do the data analytics."
What are your degrees?
"Underrgrad I was an economics major and my concentration was finance and date analytics."
What got you interested in this field?
"Before I came to Tulane I didn't know anything about it, but they actually started a master's course in this. Getting exposed to it in the MBA program really opened my eyes and got me interested in it. Without coming here, I probably would have never thought about doing this."
So that wasn't a factor when you came to Tulane from Miami?
"Yeah, but I knew the Freeman business school is a great school and I kind of just got exposed to it in my classes, and then I decided I wanted to pursue something like this."
My grandmother lived in Ponchatoula for a while before moving to New Orleans. Do you like it?
"I've been up there sometimes and I like it, but I'm going to commute. I live in Elmwood, so I'm going to commute from right now."
When did you learn you were getting the job?
"About two weeks ago. Thanksgiving week."
How have your two years been at Tulane?
"They've been great. I'm just really getting into the city. I love New Orleans. It's really become my new home. I love it hear. Coach Fritz runs a great program. I have a lot of respect for him and the way he's treated me since I've come in here. This team is just great. I love the guys on the team. The past few years I've made some of the best friends in my life in a short time, so I really love it."
There are a handful of guys on this team who have been on bowl games at other schools, but I believe you and Noah Fisher are the only ones to actually play in a bowl game.
"I played in one, the Sun Bowl in El Paso. It was great going to a bowl game. Playing a team that's not on your schedule year in and year out is really interesting and challenging, and just to experience this different type of game feels like a championship game or something more than just a regular season game."
How many guys have asked you what it's like to play in a bowl game?
"Yeah, there's talk about what's going to happen, especially the whole week and the whole process because it's not the same preparation wise as a normal opponent, so it's a lot of work beforehand, and you get here and it's a lot of distractions and stuff like that. I really told them do a lot of the work when we're back in New Orleans. it's really important to get ahead. The schedule here has been crazy so far, and we don't have a lot of time to prepare once you get here, so I told them to stay focused (in New Orleans practices) and do a lot of work then and have fun when it's time to have fun but when we're at practice and meetings, make sure to focus because we have to win."
Because of the scare at Miami, you're lucky to be alive. How did it change you?
"It just really increased my gratitude. Football is a really hard game and you can get bogged down on a lot. I've grateful that I'm able to play a sport that's given me all these experiences. I'm really happy for that and just not taking it for granted and knowing that Saturday is going to be my last game ever, I'm really just happy I got to experience that."
Do you feel you had taken things for granted before?
"Yeah, definitely. Just getting in that grind day in and day out, going to practice and all that stuff. I wasn't able to do anything for 18 months, and you're like, wow, I really miss this and I really wish I could do it again, not knowing for the majority of the time if I wouldn't or would, it really makes me think about taking advantage of all the opportunities."
Your career did not go as expected as heavily recruited as you were coming into college, but are you happy with the way everything has worked out?
"Yeah, definitely. Obviously God has different plans for us than what we might think, but I'm grateful that I have been able to experience college football in the way I have. It's definitely changed my life. It's definitely changed my life and changed my outlook on it, but I wouldn't change a thing. I have a great wife, a great education."
Did you meet your wife in Miami?
"Yeah. We got married here. She graduated the semester after me and we got engaged my first semester at Tulane and we got married in June last year."
How great an experience has it been for you?
"It's been awesome. Some of the closest relationships I'll have for the rest of my life are with people I played football with. This game has given so much back to me as far as the education experience, and it's changed my character. I'm really tight with John (Leglue), Joey (Claybrook), Corey (Dublin) and coach (Alex) Atkins and Mack Helms, our G.A. They are great mentors not just for football matters but life problems that you encounter and how to handle that."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-hurricanes-college-football-center/32511701/
Knighton, who has been a grad transfer at Tulane the last two years and backs up Corey Dublin at center, talked about his career and his future.
So you're starting a job on Monday?
"Yes, I'm starting a full-time job Monday. Honestly, the best benefit I've had from football is getting a free education these last six years. It's really setting me up for my future, so I was really able to land my dream job. It's a natural gas company up in Ponchatoula. I'm really excited about that. They monitor natural gas pipelines and I do the data analytics."
What are your degrees?
"Underrgrad I was an economics major and my concentration was finance and date analytics."
What got you interested in this field?
"Before I came to Tulane I didn't know anything about it, but they actually started a master's course in this. Getting exposed to it in the MBA program really opened my eyes and got me interested in it. Without coming here, I probably would have never thought about doing this."
So that wasn't a factor when you came to Tulane from Miami?
"Yeah, but I knew the Freeman business school is a great school and I kind of just got exposed to it in my classes, and then I decided I wanted to pursue something like this."
My grandmother lived in Ponchatoula for a while before moving to New Orleans. Do you like it?
"I've been up there sometimes and I like it, but I'm going to commute. I live in Elmwood, so I'm going to commute from right now."
When did you learn you were getting the job?
"About two weeks ago. Thanksgiving week."
How have your two years been at Tulane?
"They've been great. I'm just really getting into the city. I love New Orleans. It's really become my new home. I love it hear. Coach Fritz runs a great program. I have a lot of respect for him and the way he's treated me since I've come in here. This team is just great. I love the guys on the team. The past few years I've made some of the best friends in my life in a short time, so I really love it."
There are a handful of guys on this team who have been on bowl games at other schools, but I believe you and Noah Fisher are the only ones to actually play in a bowl game.
"I played in one, the Sun Bowl in El Paso. It was great going to a bowl game. Playing a team that's not on your schedule year in and year out is really interesting and challenging, and just to experience this different type of game feels like a championship game or something more than just a regular season game."
How many guys have asked you what it's like to play in a bowl game?
"Yeah, there's talk about what's going to happen, especially the whole week and the whole process because it's not the same preparation wise as a normal opponent, so it's a lot of work beforehand, and you get here and it's a lot of distractions and stuff like that. I really told them do a lot of the work when we're back in New Orleans. it's really important to get ahead. The schedule here has been crazy so far, and we don't have a lot of time to prepare once you get here, so I told them to stay focused (in New Orleans practices) and do a lot of work then and have fun when it's time to have fun but when we're at practice and meetings, make sure to focus because we have to win."
Because of the scare at Miami, you're lucky to be alive. How did it change you?
"It just really increased my gratitude. Football is a really hard game and you can get bogged down on a lot. I've grateful that I'm able to play a sport that's given me all these experiences. I'm really happy for that and just not taking it for granted and knowing that Saturday is going to be my last game ever, I'm really just happy I got to experience that."
Do you feel you had taken things for granted before?
"Yeah, definitely. Just getting in that grind day in and day out, going to practice and all that stuff. I wasn't able to do anything for 18 months, and you're like, wow, I really miss this and I really wish I could do it again, not knowing for the majority of the time if I wouldn't or would, it really makes me think about taking advantage of all the opportunities."
Your career did not go as expected as heavily recruited as you were coming into college, but are you happy with the way everything has worked out?
"Yeah, definitely. Obviously God has different plans for us than what we might think, but I'm grateful that I have been able to experience college football in the way I have. It's definitely changed my life. It's definitely changed my life and changed my outlook on it, but I wouldn't change a thing. I have a great wife, a great education."
Did you meet your wife in Miami?
"Yeah. We got married here. She graduated the semester after me and we got engaged my first semester at Tulane and we got married in June last year."
How great an experience has it been for you?
"It's been awesome. Some of the closest relationships I'll have for the rest of my life are with people I played football with. This game has given so much back to me as far as the education experience, and it's changed my character. I'm really tight with John (Leglue), Joey (Claybrook), Corey (Dublin) and coach (Alex) Atkins and Mack Helms, our G.A. They are great mentors not just for football matters but life problems that you encounter and how to handle that."
