"John Knight was an outstanding running back in football and a sprinter in track.

He received Williamson All-American first team honors as a junior and was voted All-Conference in football in both his junior and senior years. He also was the conference MVP his senior year when he was the second leading rusher in NCAA college division football. He spent 1963 with the Pittsburgh Steelers until an injury ended his career.

In track he established school records in both the 100- and 200-yeard dashes and participated on the school record 880-yard relay team. He won Indiana Collegiate Conference Championships in both dashes and set a conference record in the 220-yard dash.