With COVID-19 cancelling and postponing seasons, along with dealing with injuries, there are some athletes who have considered giving up on their sport. 

Through all this adversity, David Knox still has managed to weather the storm.  

Knox is a redshirt senior defensive lineman from St. Louis, Mo. He has been a member of the Lindenwood football team since 2016. 

Last year, Knox dealt with a season-ending injury that caused him to miss most of the 2019-20 season. During the offseason, he caught the attention of pro scouts, participating in interviews. Knox has also been working hard everyday, preparing to take his first step back on the field. 

Q: How were you able to get through adversity last year during your injury? 

A: “It was mentally taxing. When you go through that type of adversity, your mind starts playing tricks on you, like ‘will I come back’ ‘will everything will be okay’. You just kind of have an internal battle. But leaning on God and not thinking too hard, then the people around me started to uplift helped me through. And once that worked through, I just let it happen. I didn’t stress as much on it, and everything started falling back into place.” 

Q: What are your thoughts about the season being pushed back into the spring? 

A: “I’m not liking it. I just want my full season now. But now the spring season is so short to where your season got postponed or canceled, to actually get a real full season. you have to wait until 2021. So to get injured and having to wait a long time anyways, then that time becomes even longer, it gets pretty frustrating. 

Q: Are you coming back in the fall in 2021 to play? 

A: “Yeah that’s the only true option. I feel like it’s a lot of seniors in the same position are coming back in fall 2021 to get a full season.” 

Q: How have you been preparing for next season? 

A: “I’ve been in the lab constantly. You know whether it’s training with the strength staff, getting field work in, whether it’s stretching or rehab. I’m always in my strength coach’s ear, finding new ways just to get better on my own.” 

Q: What are you looking forward to this season? 

A: “Honestly, I’m just excited to get back out there and just play. I want the toughest competition I can get. I want to go undefeated, win conference, and win a national championship.” 

Q: With everything that’s going on in the world, (COVID-19, racial justice) how are you able to keep a level head? 

A: “It’s hard to really keep a level head. You constantly find your mind, in different points of the day, drifting in one direction then it snap backs over. Especially with the racial tension that’s going on in the country. It’s kind of hard to fully focus with everything that’s going on. It’s something that really needs to be addressed.” 

Q: Who inspires you to keep going through these times? 

A: “My mom really. My mom has been the most consistent figure in my life. Whenever times get hard, she may get down, she may gets sad, but she would always find a way to bounce back and gets stuff handled. Anytime I’ve ever been in a situation, mom has always been the first person to always call and she’d always have my back. And for that I am forever grateful.” 

Q: If you enter the 2021 NFL Draft, which team would you want to play for? 

A: “It’d be a dream come true to be on a team, but if I had to choose, it would be the Atlanta Falcons. I have been a fan ever since Michael Vick and Roddy Wright. I’d love to be in Atlanta playing in the dome.” 

Q: Which skill test would you be most excited about for your pro day? 

A: “Honestly looking forward to the 40-yard dash. After really training this summer for it, I feel like I can do something big with it. I’ve always gotten myself down about the 40 all the time, but I’ve never really prepared for it or practiced proper running mechanics until I started training this summer. With training and continuing to practice, I don’t have that much fear about it anymore.” 

Q: Any words of wisdom you want to give to any of the freshman or incoming players? 

A: “Be who you say you are. When I say ‘be who you say you are’ don’t run your mouth a lot saying what you are going to do. Go out and get it. Go be the person you want to be and accomplish it. But don’t get stuck in the mindset of talking more than doing.”