Oct. 5, 2006

By Katie Stuhldreher

Four years ago, former Irish head football coach Tyrone Willingham sat down with an over-eager sophomore receiver to discuss patience.

In the 2004 season opener at Brigham Young University, Rhema McKnight fielded a punt on the Irish one-yard line and was brought down at the four-yard mark. The Irish punted in three downs, giving BYU the field position it needed to secure an early score over Notre Dame.

Coach Willingham told McKnight he had to learn to wait for his opportunities, rather than forcing an attack on every play.

The young receiver took that advice to heart and remembered the importance of patience when he found out he needed to wait an entire year to play his senior season for the Irish.

In the second game of the 2005 season, McKnight took a hard hit in the game at Michigan that sidelined him for the season. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a ligament tear in his knee and started the long process of rehabilitation.

At first, McKnight tried to shake off the injury and return to practice. But once it was clear that he needed surgery, McKnight and Irish head coach Charlie Weis decided to apply for a medical red shirt and try again in 2006.

“It was difficult at first, but as soon as we realized I’d be out for the season and knew I could come back, it was a weight off my shoulders. I was less stressed. To sit out is a very difficult process, but I just had to accept it and move on,” McKnight says.

McKnight watched as Weis guided quarterback Brady Quinn from being just another talented quarterback with potential to a nationally recognized Heisman hopeful.

He watched as receiver Jeff Samardjiza, formerly unknown in the college football world, broke almost every Notre Dame single-season receiving record.

He watched as Notre Dame fought then defending national champion USC to the final seconds of what Coach Weis termed “an epic battle.”

And in the postseason, he watched as Notre Dame took on powerhouse Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

“Not being able to compete was hard. I’m a competitor and competitors always want to go out and show what they can do. Just that fact was tough,” McKnight says.

Always eager to be a part of the action, McKnight did much more than just watch last season. He hobbled and jumped around on the sidelines as much as he could manage on his crutches to cheer on his teammates. He also offered coaching tips and advice between downs.

“I was just being a player-coach,” says McKnight. “I had a chance to sit back on the sidelines and see what defenses were doing, things like that. I could help a lot of the younger guys, as well as Maurice [Stovall] and Jeff [Samardjiza] at receiver. I was trying to help so they could go out and be as successful as last year.”

Now back in his starting position at wide receiver for the Irish, McKnight is ready to make up for lost time.

“I am back 100-percent. Initially, starting out was a little difficult, but Coach Weis kept moving me around and helped me get over that hump and now I’m back and ready to go,” McKnight says. “I don’t even think about the fact that I was injured anymore.”

McKnight added that in some ways, his injury actually helped his game due to the new perspective he gained as a “player-coach.”

“I think in the long run it helped me understand defenses a lot better coming into this year. I think it was a blessing, to come back to a great university and further my education and play football another year. It was a blessing in disguise,” he says.

In the first home game of the season, the talented wide receiver caught five passes for 59 yards and one touchdown, working his way back into the scoring column.

The second home game against Michigan brought disaster for the Irish, however, as they lost 47-21.

McKnight has had bad luck against Michigan in the past, hurting his knee in Ann Arbor last year. With the disappointing loss, McKnight once again knew it was time to rely on that famous patience he developed under Willingham. McKnight worked hard on and off the field to relax his teammates and keep the team focused on the remainder of the season.

“I’m a guy who believes in leading by example. I don’t want to yell at my teammates or anything like that. I just try to go out there and do the things I’m told. Hopefully they’ll just follow,” McKnight says.

McKnight’s enthusiasm and sense of humor have earned him a reputation among his teammates. At press conferences, he can often be seen singing loudly, making faces at teammates to try to get them to laugh during an interview, or pulling a light-hearted prank.

“I think it relaxes a lot of guys. Some guys get overly high-strung and you know, football is supposed to be fun. I think I’m one of a couple guys — like Jeff Samardjza — who like to bring that comic relief on the field. It helps everyone stay a bit more focused,” he says.

As a result of his easy-going nature, McKnight gets along well with everyone on the team, spending time off the field with a variety of different teammates.

“I’m close with basically everybody on the team. I’m always jumping in and out of groups, making everybody laugh, things like that. You know, usually we all get together at somebody’s house and have a clown-around session, joking around,” McKnight says.

In particular, however, McKnight had a special bond with former teammate Maurice Stovall, who graduated last year.

“We were best friends. Me and Mo were inseparable. He’d finish my sentences, I’d finish his. It’s a bond that can’t be broken. I still stay in touch with him and talk every so often,” says McKnight.

McKnight also spends time off the field with teammates and friends playing basketball. He entered Notre Dame’s bookstore basketball five-on-five outdoor tournament his freshman and sophomore years.

“Yeah, I’m kind of a bookstore legend,” McKnight says with a grin. “We always made it to the semis or championship game, but weren’t able to complete our goal. But it was fun.”

In fact, McKnight considered himself to be more of a basketball player than a football player growing up. He began playing basketball in Inglewood, California, when he was six years old.

“My high school football coach saw me play basketball — I’ve always been a basketball player — and he asked me to come out one year and play receiver. We were short on receivers that year and he thought I had some athletic ability and wanted me to come out and play,” McKnight says.

Although McKnight considered staying close to home to play for UCLA, he decided that football was his game and Notre Dame his new home.

“I guess I just felt football was my calling. I got more scholarship offers for football. My main focus was how I could further myself in the field of academics,” says McKnight, who completed an undergraduate degree in psychology last year.

The adjustment from sunny California to South Bend wasn’t an easy one for McKnight.

“The change of pace in the lifestyle was the hardest. In California, everyone is always on the go, speeding everywhere. In South Bend, things are a lot slower. Even worse, though, was the weather. My first winter here was terrible. I definitely cried myself to sleep a couple times,” he says.

He said although the adjustment was difficult, his teammates–as well as Coach Willingham’s sermons on patience–helped him to take his time and finally get comfortable with Notre Dame.