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Knowles-Tener tackles American football
By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
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Tropical climate, white sandy beaches
and clear light blue surf aren't conditions that most of us would want
to leave. But departing that environment in his native Bahamas was the
only way for Rondre Knowles-Tener to pursue his dreams.
So Knowles-Tener left his family back
on the Atlantic Ocean island chain prior to his sophomore year in high
school and headed to the United States and Lynchburg, VA, to play
football at Liberty Christian Academy. Two years later, the 6-foot-1,
290-pound defensive tackle has become a stellar player for the Bulldogs
who caught the attention of college programs like James Madison and Wake
Forest.
But it was East Carolina defensive
line coach Marc Yellock who proved most interested in Knowles-Tener.
That interest resulted in a verbal commitment from Knowles-Tener to the
Pirates back on June 19.
Knowles-Tener was the second
defensive lineman to join ECU's recruiting Class of 2016 during a
two-day period in June. A day after his pledge,
defensive
tackle Jalen Price from Riverside High in Williamston
also made a verbal commitment to the Pirates.
American football is gaining
popularity in the Bahamas, which has produced a handful of NFL players
through the years, including current Cincinnati Bengals tight end Alex
Smith. The Bahamas American Football Federation was actually formed to
promote the sport and help develop players.
But to really test and improve their
skills, the best players from the Bahamas eventually need to come to the
United States.
A previous family connection with
Liberty Christian led Knowles-Tener to Lynchburg when he decided that
was the next step in his development.
Up to the time he departed for the
United States, Knowles-Tener's football experience was limited to
playing with the Warhawks recreation team in the Bahamas.
“He has a cousin, Demitri Knowles,
who is playing (wide receiver) at Virginia Tech now,'' Liberty Christian
coach Frank Rocco said. “Demitri played here five or six years ago and
had a good career. The two are very similar. Dimitri hadn't played a lot
of football, but really wanted to learn. He ended up getting a
scholarship to Virginia Tech.
“The whole family felt like that
worked out well for Dimitri, so they got Rondre up here. His sophomore
year he was very new to football. He really hadn't played much organized
football before coming to the States. But he picked it up quickly and
got himself into football shape.''
Knowles-Tener received on-the-job
training as a sophomore when he logged 29 tackles and one tackle for
loss for a 9-2 Liberty Christian squad that won the Virginia Independent
Schools Athletic Association Division I state title.
The Bulldogs slipped to 5-3 last
season, but Knowles-Tener continued to develop into a big-time talent.
“One of the most exciting things
about Rondre and his upside is that he's learning every day,'' Rocco
said. “Every day he's learning something new about the game that some
kid who's been doing it 10 years would already know. Those kids have
plateaud and leveled out. Rondre gets better and better every day.''
But it's Knowles-Tener's raw athletic
ability that really excites Rocco.
“Here's a 290-pound kid who runs a
4.85 or 4.9 40-yard dash,'' Rocco said. “We have video clips of him just
chasing down legitimate running backs on the perimeter as they try to
get to the sideline. He does that frequently from a nose tackle
position.
“I can tell you this. He's got some
rare ability. I've been coaching 30 years in high school and college,
and he's in the top five-percent of the guys I've coached and coached
against. I'm talking innate physical tools. He's extremely explosive and
has great weight room strength. You take all those attributes and smooth
off the some of the rough edges, and he's got a chance to be a really
great one.''
ECU's Yellock was impressed by those
attributes after watching highlight video from Knowles-Tener's junior
season. He came to Lynchburg to watch Knowles-Tener during Liberty's
spring workouts and then extended an invitation to attend the Pirates'
summer football camp for further evaluation.
Knowles-Tener impressed enough at the
camp to receive a scholarship offer two days later. He then headed back
home to the Bahamas to share the news about his scholarship offer with
family before making his pledge to the Pirates official.
“Rondre went down there for a one-day
camp and spent a lot of time with Coach Yellock,'' Rocco said. “He
really likes Coach Yellock and he likes that part of the country. East
Carolina saw the upside in him. We were just very happy they pulled the
trigger on him (with scholarship offer). I think he really is a player
under the radar.
“He went back home to the Bahamas
after the camp and I had a funny feeling that to cap his visit he'd be
able to share with his family that significant news.''
Knowles-Tener may not be the last
member of the family to get recruited by East Carolina. Accompanying him
to the one-day ECU camp in June was his cousin, Michael Strachan, a 6-5,
200-pound senior wide receiver who has 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard
dash.
“Obviously, you don't find 6-5
receivers very often,'' Rocco said. “The only thing holding him back is
working a little bit on the precision of his route running. Another year
of coaching and buying into the basics, and he'll get an opportunity.''
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07/12/2015 02:28 PM |
