Sacks: 9.0 Weight 98 kg College: Southern California Name Sammy Knight Career start 1996 | Undrafted: 1997 Role American football player Positions Safety Tackles: 792 Height 1.85 m | |
 | ||
Date of birth: (1975-09-10) September 10, 1975 (age 40) Education Rubidoux High School, University of Southern California | ||
Place of birth: Fontana, California | ||
Sammy Knight: Football Safety
Sammy D. Knight, Jr. (born September 10, 1975) is a former American football safety. He played college football at USC and was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1997. Knight was also a member of the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants. He was also an assistant coach at USC.
Contents
Early years
Knight graduated from Rubidoux High School in Riverside, California before attending the University of Southern California. He has 3 brothers who also played college football: Ryan was a record-setting prep All-American running back (rushing for 501 yards in a game) who then lettered 4 years (1984–87) at tailback for USC and led the Trojans in rushing in 1985 and 1986 (he is 20th on USC's career rushing list with 1,875 yards), Greg played defensive line at Colorado (1986) and Darryl lettered 3 years (1998–2000) at linebacker at USC. His father, Sam Sr., played on a California state championship basketball team at Riverside (Calif.) Community College in the early 1960s that was coached by Jerry Tarkanian. He is married to Freda Knight, a Hampton University Graduate. They have four daughters named Shianne, Samone, Savannah, and Sasha. Knight also has an older daughter named Aneka.
Professional career
After a successful 2001 season with the New Orleans Saints, Knight appeared in the 2002 Pro Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. In 2011, Sammy Knight was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame for his years with the Black and Gold.
New York Giants
On March 3, 2008, Knight signed a three-year, $5.1 million with the New York Giants. The deal included a $1 million signing bonus. He was released on February 9, 2009.
Coaching
In 2010 and 2011 Knight was part of the USC coaching staff as a graduate assistant primarily working with the safeties.
