Four games into his second college season in 2023, Wayne Knight had seen his opportunities dwindle, his confidence shaken and his football future clouded.
He’d been on the field for just nine snaps at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Knight elected to step away from his team and the sport he loved, a departure that ultimately reminded him how much he cherished the game.
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“It was a humbling experience,” he said. “But it opened my eyes, and I’m grateful.”
Now the 2022 Smyrna High grad has reaped the rewards of his return.
Knight has been named Delaware’s 2025 Athlete of the Year by the Delaware Sportswriters & Broadcasters Association after an All-American season at College Football Playoff qualifier JMU.
Dec 20, 2025; Eugene, OR, USA; James Madison Dukes running back Wayne Knight (3) rushes during the second quarter against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Knight, who followed JMU coach Bob Chesney by transferring to UCLA after the season, could not attend the DSBA’s annual awards luncheon Feb. 16 at Riverfront Events at the Hyatt Hotel on the Wilmington Riverfront. His mother Yolanda accepted the John J. Brady Award on his behalf.
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The Brady award has been presented annually by the DSBA since 1949. Knight is the first college football player to earn it since Penn State defensive lineman Devon Still, a Howard High grad from Wilmington, in 2011.
“James Madison is always a place that I dreamed of being at,” Knight said during the 2025 season, “and just being able to get the opportunity to get back on this field and be a part of this program was definitely huge and a special part of my life.”
Others honored at the gathering year were the 2025 Delaware Team of the Year, Seaford football; Tubby Raymond Coach of the Year recipients DeSean Jackson of Delaware State University football and the late Caravel Academy softball coach Randy Johnson; Buddy Hurlock Unsung Hero Award winner Maddi Way of the Saint Mark’s High volleyball team; and former News Journal photographer Fred Comegys, who became the first photo-journalist to earn the DSBA’s Herm Reitzes Community Service Award.
HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA – DECEMBER 05: Wayne Knight #3 of the James Madison Dukes celebrates after the game against the Troy Trojans at Bridgeforth Stadium on December 05, 2025 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Dukes defeated the Trojans 31-14. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Knight blossoms into 2025 All-American
The 2025 season was Knight’s fourth at JMU but by far his busiest.
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He’d played eight games as a true freshman in 2022, four in 2023 before leaving the team but retaining the year of eligibility and all 13 in 2024, with two starts. He entered 2025 having 86 career carries for 464 yards and two touchdowns and 21 catches for 211 yards and two more TDs.
Chesney was hired as JMU coach after that 2023 season when Curt Cignetti moved to Indiana, paving the way for Knight’s return and future success.
“He [Chesney] opened up his arms to me,” Knight said of his return to the team. “He welcomed me to the family and gave me my opportunity so that I could produce for this program.”
Sep 5, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; James Madison Dukes running back Wayne Knight (3) runs the ball against the Louisville Cardinals during the first half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images
Blessed with a new dose of perspective, Knight became a different player after his return, he said, relishing the benefits of teamwork while developing a more relaxed, though still diligent, approach.
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It paid off in 2025 as the 5-foot-7, 190-pound Knight won the starting backfield job and ran his way to renown. He rushed for 1,373 yards, which ranked seventh nationally in FBS, on 207 carries with nine TDs.
“It felt unreal,” he said of his breakthrough season.
Knight surpassed 100 yards rushing in five games – 151 against Georgia Southern, 111 against Louisiana, 126 versus Washington State, 212 in the Sun Belt Conference title game win over Troy in which he was game MVP and 110 in the College Football Playoff first-round loss at Oregon.
Knight also snared 40 passes for 397 yards and a TD and returned 19 punts and four kick-offs for another 269 yards. His 145.64 all-purpose yards per game ranked third nationally in FBS.
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The Athlete of the Year recognition is the latest in a slew of postseason awards for Knight that included first-team All-Sun Belt and four different second-team All-American citations
Dec 20, 2025; Eugene, OR, USA; James Madison Dukes running back Wayne Knight (3) rushes as Oregon Ducks defensive back Aaron Flowers (21) defends during the second quarter at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Fanning a football family’s flames
Considering the limited recruiting interest he garnered at Smyrna, Knight’s rise to prominence is quite prolific.
While earning third-team All-State honors as a senior in 2021, he’d verbally committed to FCS-level Stony Brook. But with Signing Day looming, then-JMU coach Cignetti offered Knight a scholarship to join the Dukes for their imminent climb from FCS to FBS. Knight accepted.
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Knight is the younger brother of Will Knight, who rushed for a state record 6,490 yards at Smyrna from 2014-17 while sparking the Eagles to three state titles.
Will played at Old Dominion in 2018 before moving to Delaware and rushing for 919 yards and earning second-team All-CAA status as a red-shirt freshman in 2019. He then left to presumably seek better opportunities that he never found in brief junior-college and UConn stints.
Smyrna’s Wayne Knight takes a kickoff return (after receiving a lateral) in the second half of Smyrna’s 48-7 win at Smyrna High School, Friday, November 5, 2021.
Wayne’s brother Yamir, a year younger, is a wide receiver who played with him at JMU for two years before transferring to SMU, where he was an honorable mention All-ACC choice in 2025.
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“He did such a good job,” Chesney told the Big Ten Network after Wayne Knight transferred to UCLA. “He keeps his pads low. He’s fast. He can protect in the run, in the pass game. He’s a home-run threat at all times.
“He’s just a player that we knew could do it all.”
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: JMU and UCLA RB Wayne Knight is 2025 Delaware Athlete of the Year
