Columbia’s own strives to make the NFL

Austin Knowlin can’t go anywhere without someone asking him how the training is going. For a school that has remarkably low attendance at its football games, it seems most everyone knows Knowlin is trying to get into the NFL.

After watching him from the press box for four years, I sat down with Knowlin for what could likely be our last interview while both students at Columbia.

In one of the sports information offices, Knowlin picked up a mouse pad that had a picture of him breaking a tackle and told Darlene Camacho, sports information director and assistant athletic director, that he wanted some mouse pads for himself. Knowlin isn’t shy about his talent—when you make it this far in the draft process, you know you’re good. But he’s worked long and hard to get to this point.

He and Millicent Olawale, a friend and Columbia quarterback, took two weeks off after the end of the season and then immediately went back to work with one goal: This time next year, they want to be playing football.

A typical day during training for Knowlin had him going down to Velocity Sports Performance before 7 a.m. to work with a trainer—which his agent pays for—coming back uptown for classes, running track, going to more classes, throwing with Olawale, and then cooling down by swimming laps.

“It’s always long days,” the senior said. “Always something to do.”

Of course, Knowlin says balancing this schedule isn’t much different than what he had to do while playing for the Lions. It’s all about time management, he said.

The training mainly focused on the tests featured in Pro-Day workouts: 40 time, vertical jump and agility tests like the L-cone and 5-10-5 short shuttle. He’s seen marked improvements across all fields since starting training in December.

“I had no technique, honestly,” Knowlin said.

He’ll graduate in May with the rest of us thanks to his mother’s insistence. Knowlin’s agent, Michael Peterbog, originally wanted him to move to Florida this semester to train. Knowlin was all for it—until his mother found out.

“She’s been saying ever since football season ended, ‘You’re finishing school. Make sure you finish school,’” he said. “Obviously it would’ve probably been more beneficial to do that, which is why I wanted to do that, but I told my mom and she said, ‘You’re going back and you’re finishing the semester.’”

In the long run, Knowlin said, it’s better to have the degree now—he’s majoring in sociology—and not have to worry about finishing school later. And here, he has the support of his coaches and friends to keep him motivated.

The first phone call Knowlin had with Olawale happened four years ago when they had both committed to Columbia. “We clicked right away because we were very straight up about our business,” Knowlin said.

Since they’re both trying to pursue professional football, the two practice throwing and route running every day, and they run track together when they can.

“We’ve just always been right there and always pushing each other,” Knowlin said. “At the end of the day, it’s always going to make me better as long as someone’s right there pushing me more.”

He and Olawale both attended Fordham University’s Pro-Day in March, a result of the connections Columbia coaches have with Fordham. Knowlin also attended the Pro-Day at the University of Connecticut. A player is allowed to attend Pro-Days only if they are within 50 miles of his school or his home, so Olawale, a California native, was not allowed to attend.

Because UConn is a three-hour drive from the city, Knowlin went home the night before so he could be rested for the workout. Head coach Norries Wilson picked Knowlin up from his house in Newington, Conn. the next day and drove him to UConn.

Knowlin was the only player there who had not played at UConn, but that didn’t bother him much. In fact, as there were only 13 players and 25 scouts, Knowlin felt he got some valuable face time. Several teams, including the Browns, have requested film, and draft experts say Knowlin’s punt returning ability appeals to teams.

While draft projections have him going anywhere from the fifth round to free agency, Knowlin said as long as he gets to play, he’ll be happy.It’s why he gets up at six in the morning and why he works out three times a day. It’s why he doesn’t mind when someone stops him for the 20th time to ask him which team he’ll play for in the fall.

Holly MacDonald is a Barnard senior majoring in history and English.