Johnny Otis Knox II (born November 3, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver who played three seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Churches of Christ, Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Sout ...

. He was selected by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

as the 140th overall pick in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. Knox's career abruptly ended after sustaining a severe spinal injury in 2011. He retired from playing football in 2013. Knox was also a coaching intern for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

in 2015.

Early life

After graduating in 2005 from Channelview High School in

Channelview, Texas Channelview is a census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas on the eastside of Houston, Harris County. The population was 45,688 at the 2020 U.S. census. History Channelview was given its name since it is located on the north ...

, Knox enrolled at

Tyler Junior College Tyler Junior College (TJC) is a public community college in Tyler, Texas. It is one of the largest community colleges in Texas, with an enrollment of more than 12,500 credit students each year with an additional 20,000 continuing education enroll ...

. As a sophomore at Tyler, he led all junior college receivers with 884 yards and 12 touchdowns. Rivals.com rated him as the No. 9 junior college receiver in the class of 2007, and he transferred to

to play for the Abilene Christian Wildcats football team. He went into his first season at Abilene Christian listed as a backup wide receiver, but he quickly moved into a starting role. He finished the season with 62 receptions for 1,158 yards and a school-record 17 touchdowns. He finished third in Division II in 2007 in touchdown receptions, while racking up the fourth-most receiving yards in a season in Abilene Christian history. While garnering more attention from defenses in 2008, Knox still racked up 56 receptions for 1,069 yards and 13 touchdowns. Knox helped Abilene Christian start 11–0 before losing in the third round of the Division II playoffs. His 30 touchdown receptions in two seasons were the most in Abilene Christian history, and he earned second-team All-America honors in 2008. After the 2008 season, Knox was invited to participate in the 2009

Texas vs The Nation Texas vs The Nation was an American college football all-star bowl game played from 2007 to 2013. Originally played at the Sun Bowl Stadium, the format of the game pitted 50 top-rated college seniors who played college or high school football in ...

all-star game, where he had three receptions for 55 yards and caught a touchdown pass from David Johnson in a losing effort for the Texas team.

Professional career

2009 NFL Combine

Chicago Bears

Knox joined the

after being chosen in the fifth round of the

. He caught his first NFL pass, a 68-yard reception, on September 13, 2009, against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

. During the second game of the 2009 season (against the Pittsburgh Steelers), Knox recorded his first NFL touchdown catch on a key third down to tie the game up 14–14. He recorded another touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks, a seven-yard reception. In the fourth game of the season, against the Detroit Lions, he scored a touchdown on a 102-yard kickoff return. Two weeks later, after a bye week, Knox caught a 60-yard touchdown from

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

. On November 29, 2009, Knox returned a kickoff 77 yards to set up a Bears field goal versus the Vikings. Knox sustained a season-ending ankle injury against the Vikings. He finished the 2009 season with 45 receptions for 527 yards and five touchdowns. Knox ranked second in the NFL for return yard average with 29.0. On January 25, 2010, Knox was selected to the NFC roster for the

2010 Pro Bowl The 2010 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site ...

, replacing

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Percy Harvin William Percival Harvin III (born May 28, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida, when the Gators won the BCS National Championship in 2006 and 2008, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings o ...

, who withdrew due to injury concerns. Knox returned four kicks for 103 yards in his Pro Bowl debut. He was also targeted on two passes as a wide receiver, but failed to log a reception. In 2010, Knox led the Bears in receiving yards (960), and tied for first in the team for receptions (51) and receiving touchdowns (5). In 2011, he led the Bears in receiving yards (727) and ranked second in the NFL in yards per reception (19.6). On December 18, 2011, Knox sustained a serious spinal cord injury during a game against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. He collided with

Anthony Hargrove Anthony La'Ron Tony Hargrove (born July 20, 1983) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech. Hargrove also played for t ...

head-on while attempting to recover a fumble. Knox required immediate surgery to stabilize an injured vertebra, but maintained sensation in all limbs following the incident. Hargrove later personally apologized to Knox for his role in the injury. The Bears placed Knox on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

the following day. Knox started the

2012 NFL season The 2012 NFL season was the 93rd season of the National Football League and the 47th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, with the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants falling to the Dallas Cowboys ...

on Chicago's 'physically unable-to-perform' (PUP) list. He was unable to fully recover from the injury even after extensive rehabilitation and therapy. After the injury, Knox walks with a limp and is unable to stand without discomfort. The Bears released Knox on February 12, 2013. He announced his retirement on February 13.

Post-playing career

On July 31, 2015, Knox was hired by former Bears head coach

Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a ...

as a coaching intern with the

. In 2018, he and former Bear

Nathan Vasher Nathaniel DeWayne Vasher (born November 17, 1981) is a former American football cornerback who played seven seasons in the National Football League. He played college football at Texas and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of ...

joined the football staff at Carmel High School, where they worked under another former Bear in Blake Annen. The three had previously worked together at EFT Football Academy in Highland Park.

Personal life

Knox and his wife have four children.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bioAbilene Christian Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Johnny 1986 births Living people Abilene Christian Wildcats football players American football return specialists American football wide receivers Chicago Bears players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Houston Tyler Apaches football players Brian Piccolo Award winners