Former Lake Gibson outside linebacker Tyrice Knight was making plays in the NFC Championship game against Los Angeles Rams two Sundays ago.
The current Seattle Seahawks linebacker recorded four tackles, including one solo and three assisted, which helped Seattle beat the Rams 31-27 and make the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015. Knight for the season racked up 57 tackles, including 37 solo tackles and two sacks in 16 games. In his first season (2024), he tallied 88 tackles — 41 solo and 1 1/2 sacks.
But for Knight, it hasn’t been all peaches and cream, as he has faced some adversity leading up to the biggest game of his football career. Knight needed to overcome a preseason MCL injury as well as a heart situation amid the 2025 training camp. While the heart issue wasn’t career ending, both injuries combined slowed his early-season performance before regaining full health, which, Knight said, was after the Buccaneers game. Now he feels back to his normal self.
“Honestly it just feels good to be back healthy. That aint no excuse early in the season but I just feel like right now, (I’m) just playing football better. It’s good for my rehab to get me back right. … Things will work out how they are supposed to work out,” Knight said in a November press conference.
Lake Gibson football coach Brendan Boatwright, who coached Knight in his high school years (2015-2018), is through the moon that one of his players made it to the Super Bowl and is representing Lakeland and Polk County.
“I’m so proud of him, coming from an underdog role, going to JUCO, and then you get to Texas (UTEP) … and barely get drafted, that’s a big thing for him,” Boatwright said.
Boatwright early on saw that Knight possessed the skills needed to potentially make it that far in football because he always had long arms, he was twitchy and he could read the box well, understanding the scheme of the offense. Athletically, he could run from sideline to sideline, having a knack for the ball. As a freshman at Lake Gibson, the Lakeland native arduously trained under Boatwright’s brother, Quinton Boatwright, the Lake Gibson linebacker’s coach, which helped the Braves eventually get to the state championship in 2016.
For his high school career, Knight racked up over 200 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions and three forced fumbles, which led him to all-county and all-state selections.
He was graded as a three-star recruit before playing at Independence Community College in Kansas and UTEP in Texas. And now, two years into his Seahawks career, he’s getting ready to play in Super Bowl LX against the vaunted New England Patriots.
“It’s truly an honor to see him navigate his own journey. Everything he did on his own – the hard work and dedication. Everything that he’s done going all the way from junior college to going to the University of Texas at El Paso to being drafted to all the work he’s put in, it’s truly an honor. It’s truly an honor to be a part of his journey,” Boatwright said.
The Seahawks will gear up for a win, 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Levi’s Stadium where their rival, the 49ers, play.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Gibson football coach on Tyrice Knight reaching the Super Bowl
Reporting by Robert Magobet, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
