Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408260023
SECTION: COLLEGE FOOTBALL PAGE: FB7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
For Shawn Knight, the difference between being professional and being a professional is only on the bottom line.
This summer, the William and Mary quarterback turned pro when he signed a baseball contract with San Diego and played 16 games for the Padres' Spokane, Wash., farm club in the short-season Northwest League. He showed big-league potential, batting .280 with a .419 on-base percentage.
Knight's demeanor and attitude served him well as the Padres' 13th-round pick in the June draft. He always has been one to take care of business, and it appears baseball - at least for the immediate future - will be his profession. First, however, he has one more semester as a big man on the Williamsburg campus.
Last fall, Knight set an NCAA Division I-AA record for passing efficiency, throwing 22 touchdowns only four interceptions while completing 138 of 199 passes for 2,235 yards in leading W&M to its third I-AA playoff berth in five seasons. The Tribe finished 9-3 with a first-round loss at McNeese State. It was, figures W&M coach Jimmye Laycock, maybe the best of the 14 teams he's coached at his alma mater.
This season, the Indians are picked to finish third in the Mid-Atlantic Division of the Yankee Conference, behind Delaware and James Madison, which should be the state's top I-AA club. Fellow Yankee member Richmond remains in a rebuilding mode, and Liberty's infusion of transfers could bring the Flames their first playoff bid.
Knight is the state's top I-AA performer, however. His protection of a year ago has graduated, but he wanted to return for his senior season behind a rebuilt offensive line.
``We put a lot on Shawn last year,'' Laycock said. ``He's the kind of player who performs better with more responsibility. He's going to have even more responsibility this year, but it's going to be tougher for him to have the same kind of season. We'll be hard-pressed to match what we did last year.''
Knight believes it's possible, however. Then, that's the kind of thinking that has put the Norfolk native where he is, as a law school candidate, a budding National League infielder and potential pro football player.
``Law school was always in my plans, and it's something I still intend to do, but it's probably going to have to be on the back burner for a while,'' Knight said. ``When I first came to William and Mary, I wanted to play quarterback and I wanted to develop my baseball talent. I've done that and I've signed a baseball contract, but this football season is very important to me.''
Knight, the All-Colonial Athletic Association shortstop in the spring, said San Diego was the only club that even brought up the possibility of him finishing his W&M football career this season. The Padres allowed him to leave the Spokane club July 30, a similar arrangement to that of his farm teammate, Duke basketball recruit Trajan Langdon.
``It certainly wasn't a set thing,'' Knight said of his senior season. ``When it came to the draft, I didn't know what might happen, and as for playing football, anything could have happened. What happened was a best-case scenario for me. Coming back was important, but I wasn't ready to make a huge deal of it if it came to that.''
It wasn't necessary. The Padres played Knight mostly at second base after he'd been ``a shortstop all of my life.'' He survived a 14-hour bus ride from Spokane to Medford, Ore., and was paid $850 a month. He also welcomed being out of the limelight that goes with being the quarterback in W&M's passing-game attack.
``The obscurity of being in the minor leagues was fun,'' Knight said. ``Although, in Spokane, fans know who you are and know you're a ballplayer. Still, it was different from all of the excitement of college football, a different atmosphere.
``I've always tried to take kind of a businesslike approach toward things. It's the way I've always been. I try to be efficient about things. I found myself pretty well-suited to the way things are in baseball.''
Knight, who has completed two-thirds of his passes in two seasons as the Tribe's starter, was runner-up last year to Virginia Tech center Jim Pyne for the Dudley Award, which goes to the state's player of the year. Knight and Tech quarterback Maurice DeShazo begin this season as the front-runners for the 1994 Dudley. One thing Knight is sure to pick up in December is his degree in government.
He won't say whether he will consider trying to double his pro sports aspirations in football. It doesn't seem likely, however. One reason Knight chose W&M over other schools was because Laycock not only didn't try to sell the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder on another position, he also didn't have a wishbone offense in his sales pitch.
``Based on Shawn's size, he's not going to get a shot as an NFL quarterback,'' Laycock said. ``The Canadian League, I think he can play there, but the CFL plays during the baseball season. So, that won't fit. I think he's going to play baseball.''
Laycock certainly isn't looking for better numbers from Knight than those produced last season by the latest in a lengthening line of superb W&M quarterbacks. The Tribe's coach will put more on Knight's plate, however.
``We give Shawn a lot of flexibility,'' Laycock said. ``His decision-making ability is what's so impressive about his play. He has a great ability to make the right decision at the right time.
``He very seldom does something without thinking.''
by CNB