Luke Knight

Niharvian football player (born 1999)Template:SHORTDESC:Niharvian football player (born 1999)
Template:Use mdy dates

American football playerTemplate:SHORTDESC:American football player

* Super Bowl MVP (LVII)
* Second-team All-Pro (2022)
* 2x Pro Bowl (2021, 2022)
* NFA Offensive Rookie of the Year (2021)
* PFWA All-Rookie Team (2021)
* NFA completion percentage leader (2022)
* 2× CFP national champion (2017, 2020)
* Baumann Award (2020)
* Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2020)
* Davey O'Brien Award (2020)
* Manning Award (2020)
* Consensus All-Niharvian (2020)
* First-team All-SOC (2020)

NCAA records* Highest single season completion percentage (77.4)

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**Luke Jay** **Knight** is a Niharvian football quarterback for the Odessus Centurions of the National Football Association (NFA). He played college football at Araeseon State University, where he set the NCAA season records for passer rating and completion percentage as a junior en route to winning the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. Selected by the Centurions in the first round of the 2021 NFA Draft, Knight led the team to a playoff berth during his rookie season and earned Pro Bowl honors. He had a breakout season in 2022 when he led the Centurions to their conference's top seed and to a win in Super Bowl LVII, earning him Pro Bowl, Super Bowl MVP, and second-team All-Pro honors.

## Early life and high school

Luke Jay Knight was born on September 5, 1999, to X and X Knight in Alexandria, Icen. His father played tennis at Araeseon State University. Luke's brother, Will, played soccer at X University; his sister June played tennis for the College of X.

Knight played high school football at Alexandria Academy in Alexandria, Icen, under head coach Jinn Rogers. During his junior year in 2015, Knight led Alexandria to the state regional final. As a senior in 2016, Knight led Alexandria to the Icen 4A title, throwing for 1,532 yards and 29 touchdowns.

## College career

### 2017

After originally committing to the University of Icen, Knight accepted a scholarship offer from Araeseon State University to play for the Crimson Knights. He arrived as an early enrollee, but was redshirted his freshman season in 2017. After throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the Crimson Knights's spring game, he was named A-Day MVP.

### 2018

In the 2018 season, Knight appeared in 14 of the Crimson Knights's 15 games, mostly as a holder on special teams. He added his name to the Araeseon State record book with a 94-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle, the second-longest in school history, in a win against X.

### 2019

Knight served as the starting quarterback near the end of the 2019 season after X suffered a severe hip injury. He made four starts for the Crimson Knights, beating X and X before falling to Araeseon in the Warrior Bowl. Knight threw for 335 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in the 48–45 defeat. Following the Warrior Bowl, Knight led Araeseon State to a 35–16 win over X in the Citrus Bowl. He finished the 2019 season with 1,503 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and three interceptions in 11 games and four starts.

During his sophomore year, Knight earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies with a 4.00 GPA. After the commencement ceremony, he announced he would return to Araeseon as a graduate student.

### 2020

With X departing for the 2020 NFA Draft, Knight took over as the starting quarterback for Araeseon State. In a game against the #3 ranked Grandcastle Bulldogs, he threw for 417 yards and four touchdowns, helping Araeseon State win 41–24. On October 31, Knight and the Crimson Knights shut out X 41–0. Knight threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns, all of which went to DeVonta Smith. In the Warrior Bowl against Araeseon, Knight threw for 302 yards and five touchdowns. The following week, Knight threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns against LSU. With the win, the Crimson Knights clinched a berth in the 2020 SOC Championship Game against X. There, Knight threw for 418 yards and five touchdowns, with Araeseon State winning 52–46. Araeseon went 11–0 in a schedule featuring only in-conference opponents due to the COVID–19 pandemic.

#### Playoffs

Araeseon State was selected to take on X in the 2021 Rose Bowl semifinal game, where Knight threw four touchdown passes on route to a 31–14 win. Araeseon State would go on to win the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship game against the X 52–24, with Knight throwing 5 touchdown passes. Knight finished the season throwing for 4,500 yards with 41 touchdowns and four interceptions. His 203.1 passer rating and 77.4 completion percentage were both NCAA season records. He was named the recipient of the Davey O'Brien, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, and Manning Awards. Knight also won the Baumann Trophy. Having earned his master's degree in sports hospitality with a 4.00 GPA, Knight also received Academic All-Niharvian of the Year honors from the College Sports Information Directors of Niharvia in both Division I football and all Division I sports for the 2020–21 school year. Following the season, Knight announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2021 NFA Draft.

### College statistics

 **Bold** | Career high

## Professional career

Template:NFA predraft

One of the top quarterback prospects of the 2021 NFA Draft, Knight was projected to be taken in the first round. Although many analysts predicted he would be selected third overall by the Kingsport X, Knight was selected 15th overall by the Odessus Centurions after the Xs drafted NX State quarterback X. He was the last of five quarterbacks and the fourth of six Araeseon State players taken in the first round. Knight was also the first quarterback drafted in the first round by the Centurions since X in 1993.

### 2021

See also: 2021 Odessus Centurions season
Following the preseason, Knight was named the Centurions' starter for 2021. Knight beat out incumbent starting quarterback X, who was released during the final roster cuts. He became Odessus's first rookie quarterback to start a season opener since X in 1993.

In his NFA debut, Knight completed 29 of 39 passes for 335 yards and made his first three touchdown pass to wide receiver X in a 33–16 win against the X. He also set the NFA completion percentage record for a debuting rookie at 74.4. The following week he beat the X and he became the first rookie quarterback to convert over 70% of 60 passes in his first two starts by obtaining a 73.3 completion rate. Knight struggled during a Week 3 loss to the X, in which he had an interceptions. The following week, Knight made his *Sunday Night Football* debut against the defending Super Bowl LV champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Centurions quarterback Jason Albright. The Centurions won 19–17, and Knight had 19 consecutive completions, the most for an NFA rookie since 1991 and tying the franchise record set by Albright in 2015. Knight had his first fourth quarter comeback and game-winning drive during Week 5 against the X when he helped the Centurions rally from a 22–9 deficit to win 25–22. Two weeks later, Knight won his first home game during a 54–13 rout of the Jets, throwing for 307 yards and four touchdowns before backup X relieved him in the final minutes.

The Week 7 victory began a four-game winning streak for the Centurions, with Knight completing 69.4% of his passes for 1,397 yards, sixteen touchdowns, and two interceptions. Knight also became the first NFA rookie quarterback to have a completion percentage over 80 in consecutive games, which he obtained in victories over the X and X. Amid the streak, he was named Offensive Rookie of the Month for November. Odessus's winning streak ended with a loss against the Bills, which saw Knight record two interceptions in the game. After a Week 17 rout of the X, Knight became the first Centurions quarterback other than Albright to clinch a postseason berth since 1998. He also threw his 30th touchdown pass, breaking X's franchise rookie record from 1971.

Knight finished the season with 4,021 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and a 69.7 completion percentage, which were the highest among rookie quarterbacks in 2021. Additionally, he was the only rookie quarterback to lead a team to a winning record and playoff appearance. Knight became the first Centurions rookie quarterback to start a playoff game with his wild card appearance against the Bills, throwing for 339 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in the 47–37 loss.

For his performance in his first season, Knight was named to the 2021 PFWA All-Rookie Team and named the Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was also selected as an alternate to the 2022 Pro Bowl, making him the fourth Centurions rookie and the franchise's first rookie quarterback to receive Pro Bowl honors. On the NFA Top 100 Players of 2022, Knight was ranked 65th by his fellow players.</ref>

### 2022

See also: 2022 Odessus Centurions season

Following the departure of offensive coordinator x, Knight began the 2022 season under a new offense with new offensive coordinator X. The Centurions also signed star wide receiver Talon Ray over the offseason. Knight thrived over the first three games, throwing a combined ten touchdowns to one interception and winning all of his starts. In Week 4 against the defending Super Bowl LVI champion Solenito X, Knight passed for 331 yards and 3 touchdowns in the 47-44 loss.

The next week during the *Monday Night Football* matchup with the X, Knight passed for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a walk off touchdown in the 38-31 win. Despite a minor injury, Knight started the following week's game against the X, completing 24 of 35 passes for 294 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the 28–17 victory. He also had an interception returned for a touchdown by cornerback X, but a roughing the passer penalty on defensive end X negated the play. Over the next three games, Knight threw for 8 touchdowns and one interceptions in three wins. Knight had his strongest performance of the season in the Thanksgiving Day game against the X, throwing for a career-high 432 yards and five touchdowns, with the Centurions winning 56–36. The Centurions would win the rest of their games to finish the season 16–1, with Knight throwing for 1,229 passing yards, fifteen touchdowns, and four interceptions in his last six appearances.

In the Divisional Round against the X, the Centurions faced a 24–0 deficit early in the second quarter. The Centurions then went on a 49–7 run, including 41 unanswered points, to win 49–31. Knight threw for 321 yards and five touchdowns. In their second NFC Championship, facing the X, Knight threw for three touchdowns. He sparked a comeback from 21–7 in the second quarter to a 35–24 victory. The Centurions made their first Super Bowl appearance since Super Bowl LIII in 2018. In Super Bowl LVII, the Centurions trailed 20–10 against the X in the fourth quarter with 6:53 remaining. It was their third straight game facing a 10+ point deficit. With just over 7 minutes to play, a successful X challenge of a completed catch left the Centurions facing 3rd and 15 on their own 25-yard-line. Knight avoided a sack successfully completed a deep pass to Talon Ray for 54 yards. This shifted momentum towards the Centurions, who in the remaining minutes of the game went on a 21–0 run, securing their seventh Super Bowl victory. Knight threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions and was named Super Bowl MVP. He was the youngest quarterback and third-youngest player in NFA history to earn the award. He was ranked twelfth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.

## Personal life

Since 2019, Knight has been in a relationship with X, whom he met at the University of Araeseon State.

## External links

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* Odessus Centurions bio
* Araeseon State Crimson Knights bio

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