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Auburn receivers flourish in the school of hard Knox
Posted: Thursday April 20, 2000 06:21 PM
By Alex Rainey Auburn, Alabama (U-WIRE) -- There are many Auburn fans who are excited about the 2000 football season. In particular, many are excited by the receiving corps, which flourished throughout the year and did not lose any starters from last year's squad. The man behind the receiving corps is coach Greg Knox. Knox's duties include coaching the wide receivers and coordinating Auburn's recruiting efforts. Knox enters his second season at Auburn and his fifth season with Tommy Tuberville. Before joining Tuberville at Ole Miss, Knox had coaching stops at Stephen F. Austin and Texas Christian University where he coached with current Auburn staff members Noel Mazzone and Hugh Nall. Knox also coached at his alma mater, Northeastern State, where he played quarterback. Now, the former quarterback finds himself coaching the other end of the pass. When he talks about his first year in Auburn, you can tell how far the receivers have come under his tutelage. "Last spring was just unbelievable," Knox said. "We had some guys out there who were struggling to catch the ball, and I don't think it was because they couldn't catch the ball. It was because they were learning fundamentals and techniques. The last thing on their mind was catching the football." Knox did get the receivers ready in time for the start of last season, and catching the football was something his group grew accustomed to doing. Going into last season, there were many question marks hanging over the receiver positions, and there are few to be found this spring. "The difference this spring is that we're approaching it even more fundamentally and technique-wise, so that they don't have to concentrate on running routes," Knox said. "They are just working on becoming better route runners, and now they are more relaxed. So, they just naturally catch the football." Catching the football was something Auburn did well last year. The 1999 squad ranks fifth in Auburn history with 2,493 passing yards. During the season, freshman Ronney Daniels rewrote another part of the Auburn record book by becoming the single-season receiving yardage leader with 1,068 yards receiving. Among the returnees from last year are Reggie Worthy, Travaris Robinson, Clifton Robinson, Tim Carter and freshman All-American Daniels. Knox notes there is a plethora of talent, but that improvement can still be made. "I feel our young kids are working hard to get better," Knox said. "Some people may think of Ronney Daniels as an older kid, but Ronney is really a young kid who continues to grow each and every day, both mentally and physically." If there is one thing Knox knows, it's how to bring younger players along. Aside from being the wide receivers coach, Knox is also the recruiting coordinator for the Tigers. Knox said he felt good in his first full season as recruiting coordinator at Auburn. Before the arrival of Tuberville and his staff, recruiting was often seen as the Achilles heel for Auburn. So far with Tuberville's staff, led by Knox, the Tigers have grabbed several impressive players. In his first year as recruiting coordinator, Knox signed starters Travaris Robinson and Ronney Daniels, to go along with backups Stanford Simmons, Michael Owens and Marcel Willis. Knox and the rest of the staff had little time to assemble this class because they were hired in November after the 1998 season. The 2000 Auburn recruiting class looks to be one of many, many stars of the future. "We're excited about the recruiting class we had this past year, we got a lot of good kids who can help this program," Knox said. The 2000 recruiting class marks the first full recruiting class of the Tuberville era. For Knox, the recruiting process is an ongoing saga. Much of the time spent recruiting has been spent mending fences with high school coaches. "Our relationship with the high school coaches is really coming on strong," Knox said. Through camps, clinics and old-fashioned hard work, Knox has rebuilt relationships with coaches and high schools around the Southeast, in order for Auburn recruiting to be more productive and successful in the years to come. Knox knows his job is just beginning. He readily admits that Auburn is a Top-10 caliber program, but he also knows the program is a work in progress.
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