Senior Signing Spotlight: Maalik Knox

This is No. 15 in a month-long series of profiles of Arizona high school seniors that signed with four-year colleges. Here's the full list (currently totaling 285) of players from within the state moving on to the next level.

SPOTLIGHT: 2/22/20

Football has been a part of the life of Maalik Knox for a long time. Like many, he developed a love of the game in elementary school. He stopped playing for one year during middle school and went right back to it a year later.

Knox, a 6-1, 175-pound defensive back at Cesar Chavez found the right combination of a school that had the field of study he was interested in along with a college that was willing to pay for it, and allow him to continue playing football.

"With Bemidji State, I decided to go there because of the perfect fit with the major I wanted to go into," Knox said in an e-mail interview. "They were also giving me a full tuition scholarship."

Bemidji State is a Division II school located in Northern Minnesota, just 150 miles south of the Canadian border. The Beavers (8-3 last season) compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The senior class at Bemidji State finished the last four years with a school-record 32 wins. Knox was one of 26 players to sign with BSU earlier this month to try and keep that success going.

Like many, getting that college scholarship was a dream come true.

"Football gave me that chance to make my dreams a reality," Knox said. "Get a way to support my family and if not make it pro, possibly get a free education. For me, that was what drove me to push to become a college player and achieve these goals."

After starting out his high school career at Mountain Pointe, Knox transferred to Cesar Chavez for his senior year. After having to sit out the first five games, he joined the Champions for region play (in which they went 5-0) and a playoff matchup against Desert Ridge. Playing cornerback, Knox had 16 tackles and intercepted a pass. Here's a look at that film as CCHS allowed just 18 total points in its 6A Metro Region games.

Aside from Bemidji State, Knox had interest from Washburn University in Kansas and Ottawa in Surprise. Before heading off to college, he plans to boost his grades higher and gain some weight while still maintaining his speed.

Knox made the dean's list and his most recent GPA was 3.2, and it's heading up from there. He plans to study Engineering at BSU.

Knox feels his experience at Mountain Pointe, where he ran track and played on the freshman team really prepared him for the prospect of getting to a four-year college, particularly with the training involved.

"When I switched schools, the change didn't arouse any problems," Knox said. "When I switched it was like I had already been there for my early high school years."

The combination of his fellow teammates, family, and faith are things that have helped Knox to this new level. He finishes this off by giving them some thanks.

"I couldn't have gotten to where I am today if it wasn't for my teammates, my family always believing in me to do better, and lastly God, because the outcome I had at the end of my senior season was perfect."