Zamir Knighten already has played in an NFL venue and wowed coaches and scouts with his ability.
Many say he will have that experience again, one day playing for an NFL team, even if it’s 10 years from now.
Earlier this year, the 11-year-old Plant City resident played two games at Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, in an Offense-Defense All-American camp.
The national spotlight on the running back/defensive back will brighten again, when he will be among 100 middle school age youth football players in Schuman’s National Underclassmen Ultimate 100 Football Camp, July 22, at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Okla.
“I’m just looking forward to meeting new friends and competing against really good players,” Knighten said.
EARLY SUCCESS
Timothy Knighten has coached his son since Zamir was 6 years old.
“As a father, you always think, as soon as you have a son, that they have talent,” Timothy said.
When Zamir was 6, he played in a 6- to 10-year-old youth team in Lakeland and faced players much bigger than him. It was a trend that he has kept to this day.
“He’s always one of the smallest kids on the field,” Timothy said. “A lot of people underestimate him for that — until they get the ball in his hands.”
When Zamir turned 8, things started to really take shape.
“I just started to work with him a lot, working with his footwork and his body control and working on handling the ball,” Timothy said.
Zamir’s team that year was talented at the skill positions, and Timothy was focused on his defense, playing his son mostly at cornerback. But when Zamir had an opportunity to carry the ball, he didn’t disappoint.
In just 13 carries on the season, he scored eight touchdowns, all on runs of 60-plus yards.
“That was probably the moment that we saw how much potential he had,” Timothy said.
Zamir is still one of the smallest players on the field, but that doesn’t hamper his performance. In December, Zamir helped lead his 10-year-old unlimited Plant City Raiders to a United Youth Football League national championship.
“Oak Leaf was the biggest team I’ve ever faced,” Zamir said about the Jacksonville-based Black Knights.
Zamir’s team won that game 26-0 and also picked up wins over the Newark (N.J.) Bears and Homewood Flossmoor (Chicago) Jr. Vikings in the championship game.
Big-time colleges and NFL teams featuring undersized players, especially at running back and defensive back, has been a trend in the past several years. Zamir admires Oregon running back De’Anthony Thomas (5-9, 181) and former West Virginia standout and current St. Louis Ram Tavon Austin (5-9, 174).
“It’s not something I think about or am worried about,” Zamir said about his size and being hit by bigger opponents.
ONWARD TROJANS
Zamir, who will be entering the sixth grade, will play for the Turkey Creek Trojans this fall.
Timothy started him in youth football in Lakeland because of the league’s “unlimited” rule, with no weight requirements or restrictions for teams.
“I wanted him to get used to playing and getting hit by bigger players,” Timothy said. “I tried to instill the training in him, and I just want his mindset to be focused, so once he gets to high school and college, he will already have that strong work ethic.”
That work ethic doesn’t just pertain to football. Zamir is an A-B student who cites math as his favorite subject. Although he will play for the Trojans this fall, where he will attend middle school is still up in the air.
Among local options such as Marshall and Tomlin, Lakeland Christian also is a consideration. Lakeland Christian offers middle-school football, while local public schools do not. Lakeland Highlands Middle is another option. Although it doesn’t offer football, it has a competitive travel basketball team and track team, along with top-notch academics.
“It’s all about his mindset right now,” Timothy said.
BRIGHT FUTURE
After Zamir returns July 26, from Oklahoma, he will participate in a Offense-Defense Combine, in Orlando, to qualify for the middle school division of Team USA for the USA-Canada All-Star game.
In his short playing career, Zamir already has garnered a lot of national attention. He even has a recruiting profile on the Offense-Defense website, o-d.com.
College recruiting has transcended far from just juniors and seniors in high school. Football players as young as the seventh grade can be actively “recruited” by colleges and even can commit verbally as a middle-schooler. Timothy said Zamir constantly has coaches and scouts telling him that he’ll play in the NFL one day if he “just keeps his grades up.”
“I try not to let him focus on stuff like that, because it can make or break these young kids,” Timothy said. “It’s hard to hide from it, but you don’t want a kid to feel like he’s already made it and then is devastated if something bad happens.
“It can also have the reverse effect for some kids, making them want to be the best player they can be before they enter college, but it still makes me nervous,” he said.
Zamir said he would like to play for Oregon, both because of their style of offense and their “cool uniforms,” but said he doesn’t really care where he ends up going, just as long as he has an opportunity to play.
As for high school, Timothy hopes Zamir plays for his alma mater — Plant City High — where he was a standout, before he played in college in Virginia.
If Zamir becomes a standout in high school and college, his 6-year-old little brother, Timothy III, or TK3 as he’s known, may not be far behind.
“At 6, he’s a lot more advanced than Zamir was at that age,” Timothy said. “Being around his big brother has helped a lot. Just like Zamir, I want him to have fun with it and let him adapt.”
Contact Matt Mauney at mmauney@plantcityobserver.com.