Knipfel hopes to follow NFL dream as draft weekend approaches

HAMPTON – Everything that has happened the last month and a half most definitely wasn’t part of the plan for Josh Knipfel.

First, his girlfriend Savannah Sanders and her family lost their house to a tornado near Nashville, Tenn., on March 3 and he was unable to go out and help with the clean-up that he says took about a week while preparing for a Pro Day which eventually was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

To put it plainly, Knipfel said, “It’s been a crazy month and a half.”

Certainly, he isn’t the only college player to have his Pro Day canceled.

“I think a lot of schools didn’t have theirs before all of the cancellations,” Knipfel said. “Some were able to sneak one in, but it bummed me out (not getting the Pro Day). There were quite a few scouts going to be there. Last year there were 28 teams there. I was assuming (there would be close to the same). It’s tough.

“I think I’m in every other person’s boat who didn’t get invited to the (NFL) combine. What it all comes down to is what is on tape and not how high you jump or how fast you can run.”

And Knipfel has a lot of tape. The Iowa State offensive lineman started in all three of his seasons with the Cyclones and even had to adjust to a position change for his final game, the Camping World Bowl in December 2019.

“I’m hoping (that the tape is enough),” Knipfel said. “I have three years of good tape, hoping for a good team, and go from there. I got a chance to play left tackle, hopefully it shows I’m versatile, because every other game I was at right guard.”

Prior to the scheduled Pro Day that was canceled, a few NFL teams contacted Knipfel to get an idea of what kind of person he is, not just as a player.

“I had a few teams (reach out),” Knipfel said. “A lot of the process, teams are trying to figure out who you are; I had a lot of questionnaires, personality tests sent to me. They want to know where you are from, if you got in trouble, who your parents are.”

And, Knipfel has hired an agent who is telling him that free agency is a possibility.

“Adam, my agent, he is testing the free agency, it is what he’s been hearing,” Knipfel said. “He’s doing a good job, talking to teams, getting my name out there. I’m grateful to have an agent like him.”

That doesn’t mean that Knipfel won’t get his name called in the late rounds on Saturday, April 25.

“If I get my name called on Saturday, last couple of rounds, it would mean a lot to me,” Knipfel said. “Drafted or not drafted, I’d like an opportunity like that.”

When he first started out, of course with big dreams, even this didn’t seem like something could eventually happen. 

“Not really, I think every kid’s dream who likes sports is to go play professional one day,” Knipfel said. “It’s an afterthought. I set some goals, I was going to play Division I football and got to play three years with that. I hope to get an opportunity to play at the highest level.”

Whether he is drafted or not, there is still a level of uncertainty surrounding the future of the NFL and all sports since the coronavirus has put a halt to everything in the United States since March 14. He says that the Plan B for his future involves coaching, serving as an athletic director and teacher.

“That’s up in the air right now,” Knipfel said of the possible NFL future. “Roger Goodell said he would announce the picks at his house, since they have to social distance themselves. Whatever it may be, that is the only thing they’ve said. Free agency is still going to happen the next week. There is no timeline, though, on when I’d have to report. Usually it’s within 72 hours, and I’m on a plane or driving out and there is a rookie camp. With everything going on, I may be doing that at the end of May, June, July, who knows what the next couple of months, couple of weeks look like?”

There has been some concern that the draft, with a lot of it being online that it could be subject to hacks, but that is not a concern to Knipfel. He said that a lot of the information on who is drafted will be through phone calls rather than via computer and will make it more old school like it was in the 1970s. The television part of it is something that is still relatively new.

Knipfel came home to Hampton after Pro Day was canceled and he has still been able to work out with the help of his high school strength and conditioning coach, Dennis Swieter.

“My workout coach Denny Swieter gave me the equipment to still workout, dug out a rack and bench,” Knipfel said. “He’s been really helpful. (Former coach Jerry) Shaf(rath) has also been a great help, he’s called a couple times. I’d run, and he’d time me, we’d talk a little bit. Since April, I’ve been with the family through this (coming) weekend. When Pro Day was done with, I just needed to stay in shape.”