Where Are They Now? McKnight shows athletic and academic prowess at VCSU

Although not quite two years out of high school, Joshua McKnight is making an impressionable mark for himself at Valley City State University (VCSU). On and off the football field, Josh, as he is more commonly known, conducts himself as a young man looking toward a bright future.

Football always has played a enormous role in Josh's life. Moving to New Rockford from Texas when he was only 5 years old, Josh adjusted well to the cold winters because he enjoyed playing outdoor pick-up football games so much. No matter the weather, Josh spent his time outside playing the sport with his friends and older brother Ryan. He smiles when he states, "I now understand that it is unrealistic, but when I was younger, I always dreamed about playing in the NFL."

Perhaps this childhood vision isn't all that implausible. (After all, Jimmy Kleinsasser, a Carrington native, played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1999 to 2011!) Many readers will remember watching Josh play a variety of positions as a wide receiver, defensive cornerback and safety, offensive running back and quarterback for the Rockets. Due to his prowess on the field, Josh earned recognition as an All-Region and All-State running back. He was also selected to play in the North Dakota Shrine Bowl in his high school graduation year of 2017. Josh's best buddies also played football: Seth Soderholm, Tyrus Smith, Resh Arroyo, Chance Brenno, Riley Longnecker and Cole Myhre.

High school football was the first step in playing on a more advanced level. When Josh first visited the VCSU campus, the small class sizes, the friendliness of the people and the welcoming staff appealed to him. The community atmosphere and the culture found with the football team, though, were two of the main factors that determined Josh's decision to attend college at Valley City. His positions for the Vikings have varied with special teams, but he started on the kickoff return as an away side guard in the front line. He has also played a bit on kickoffs and on punts as well. On the statistics sheet, Josh's 2018 playing time was reasonably astonishing with an average net gain in rushing of 179 yards in the nine games he had played. The "TD" column on the stat sheet is noticeable also, as Josh scored four touchdowns this past season!

Erik Matth, VCSU's offensive coordinator coach, has this to say about Josh: "Josh has achieved his level of success on the field due to his incredible work ethic and his 'team first attitude.' When it comes to the classroom, Josh is routinely at or near the top of our team academically, while taking incredibly difficult classes. Josh is the type of student-athlete that we love as coaches– he's a hard worker, great teammate and young man of incredible integrity. We are looking forward to Josh taking on an even bigger role in Viking Football in 2019."

"The privilege of being able to play football at VCSU has been something I have been very grateful for. The environment the coaches and players have established resembles a brotherhood-like culture that fosters player development," Josh remarks. He is certain that what his coaches and teammates teach him on the field, he can progress and carry through in his life.

Although playing football has been a highlight of his first couple of years of college, Josh continues to be an exemplary student in the classroom, too. In high school, Josh was a member of the National Honor Society. He especially liked math and science classes, and Mr. Mark Huber was one of his favorite teachers. At VCSU, Josh maintains a flawless 4.0 GPA. He has not formally declared a major yet, but he is leaning toward Business Process Integration Management. This is a field in which Josh would manage and analyze business processes as a communicator with employees in both the technology and business sides of a company. A class that spurred an interest in this major was English 420 Online Communication and Documentation. The project-based course emphasized work with Microsoft Office 365 applications and various Google extensions. The results of the practical work in this class project beyond the classroom because they are useful for college students who have trouble learning.

To ready himself for an eventual career, Josh worked both at his parents' bakery and for the New Rockford Park Board while attending high school. More recently, Josh was employed by Jet-Way, an industrial cleaning company out of Harwood, N.D. The company placed Josh primarily at the American Crystal Sugar Company factory in Moorhead, Minn. Josh's main jobs were to blast carbonation and lime kiln tanks, as well as vacuum the boiler house.

To save money while working at Jet-Way between his freshman and sophomore years of college, Josh lived with his brother Ryan, who is completing his degree in Construction Management at Minnesota State University Moorhead. An active member of the National Guard, Ryan is also interning at Border States Electric in Fargo.

Josh has learned much from coaches, teammates, instructors and employers throughout the years, but his biggest role models have been his parents, John and Kelly McKnight. He has observed that they are passionate about work and are respectful of others, two attributes that Josh keenly holds himself to. As enthusiastic members of the local Lions Club, John and Kelly actively work to improve themselves and municipal aspects around them. Their community service does not end there. John served on the NR-S school board for eight years, and Kelly is a New Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce board member and a city commissioner, along with serving on the 4th Corporation Human Rights Committee. The long hours they work at the bakery make the couple's devotion to civic organizations even more extraordinary.

The move to North Dakota was a good one for the McKnight family. Bakers Dozen is thriving, Ryan is doing well, and Josh has found his niche in football and academics at VCSU.

Because John's mother, Judy McKnight, also moved to New Rockford in 2011, there are no other family members to visit in Texas. The McKnights don't take many days off from their family-owned business throughout the year, but it is understandable if they take Saturdays off in the fall to watch their son play VCSU football.