re: Official Fall Camp Discussion Thread - Who Wants to Wear Out That Trojan arse?

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The competitors: Nigel Knott and three of Alabama's fastest players, cornerback Tony Brown and wide receivers Robert Foster and Calvin Ridley.

It was around a 50-yard race earlier this year, one that showed — if it wasn't clear already — that Knott is very, very fast.

Foster won. But Knott, one of the Tide's freshman cornerbacks, finished ahead of at least Ridley.

Why's that impressive?

There probably aren't many players in the country faster than Ridley, who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds during the spring.

While the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Knott needs to get bigger, this much is clear: Alabama has added another freakishly fast and athletic player to a defensive backfield that already had several freakishly fast and athletic players.

"Nigel Knott is a very athletic guy that can play corner or receiver," coach Nick Saban said. "Wants to play corner. Certainly has the athleticism and the skill to do it."

"He really thinks he can come in and help the Alabama defense. He really does."

Many around the country became familiar with Knott's athleticism last summer.

There was a video of Knott running up a wall, doing a backflip off the wall and catching a football mid-backflip.

It went viral and was posted on websites like ESPN, USA Today and Sports Illustrated.

Then at The Opening last July, Knott ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds and posted the second-best vertical jump at the event (46 ½ inches). And there were more catches while doing backflips.

Knott's high school coach, Tim Shramek, joked about what would happen if he were to race Knott.

"I could get about a two block head start in my truck and he would beat me anyway," Shramek said.

The speed and athletic ability are Knott's greatest strengths as a player.

Before Knott's sophomore year of high school, Shramek can remember watching Knott move around and thinking, "Boy, if it ever comes together for him, he could be really special."

It did.

Knott, the son of former Ole Miss defensive back David Knott, broke out as a junior and developed into a coveted four-star recruit.

The Madison, Mississippi native was the seventh-best cornerback and 62nd-best overall prospect in this year's recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

"The most impressive thing that I ever saw with him is his closing speed," Shramek said. "With him and (three-star cornerback Taury Dixon) back there, for two years, nobody broke a long touchdown on us. There were times that people would catch a ball and run down the field, but they always caught them. He has incredible closing speed"

The race isn't the only recent proof of Knott being a special kind of athletic.

In January, Knott stood in front of a stack of rectangular football pads that came up to his chest.

Even without a running start, Knott easily jumped over the pads.

Even Tide coaches have been impressed by the videos.

During a trip to Alabama, Shramek was asked by a Tide coach about Knott's catch while doing the backflip off the wall.

Shramek said jokingly, "Well, I was a little disappointed. I showed him how to do it. I did it on the first try, but it took him 10 tries to finally get it."

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