Submitted By Mark Harris-Arizona State Student
Few people are talented enough to get recruited to play college athletics. Far fewer have what it takes to be accepted into Harvard.
But Brophy College Preparatory quarterback Cade Knox has the perfect mix of intelligence and athleticism to compete at the Ivy League level. Knox, who will take his talents to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, next year, wasn’t just recruited by the Harvard Crimson. He was recruited by multiple NCAA Division I schools including Bowling Green, Fresno State, Tulane and UNLV. But Knox said he knew that he had a life beyond the gridiron and chose Harvard because he could not only play football, but also earn a degree that the other schools couldn’t offer.
“[Harvard is] a known school, anywhere around the world you can say you have a Harvard degree and it’s really well respected there,” Knox said. “It’s definitely hard too, because they’re not going to pay for your entire education, whereas the other places would.”
Knox knows that playing FCS football is a smaller stage, but he thinks the benefits of Harvard outweigh the negatives.
“I mean sure you don’t get to play in front of the 60,000 fans or have the opportunity to go to the [College Football] Playoff,” Knox added. “But you went to Harvard and you have a Harvard degree and you’ll be in the business world and be respected by everybody and you’ll be making a lot of money and you’ll have a place in the world that you’re not going to be worried about your economics.”
As football coach Scotter Molander also told him, playing ball at Harvard does not eliminate a possible NFL career, either. During his time at Harvard, Knox said he plans to pursue a degree in veterinary studies.
“He’s always balanced it,” Cade’s mother, Michelle Knox, said. “It’s been fun. All of it’s fun for him. He’s a great young man, and again I sound like a mom, but we [Cade’s parents] are blessed.”
