When Noah Knigga made an early January social media post about an upcoming unofficial visit to a Big 12 program, he had no idea that it would create a firestorm that went viral. It was such a big story that ESPN’s Pat McAfee picked up on it, leading to a whole new level of buzz.
The sensation about Knigga was, rather obviously, the pronunciation of his name. He has clarified that it isn’t pronounced with a silent ‘K,’ leading to a huge sigh of relief from television broadcasters and public address announcers.
“Kuh-nay-ga,” Knigga says on the phone on Tuesday night while being driven to a workout session. “Kuh-nay-ga.”
A 6-foot-2, 205-pound linebacker from Lawrenceburg High School (Lawrenceburg, Indiana), Knigga is hoping to push the narrative away from his last name and instead toward his production. A class of 2025 prospect, Knigga is one of the top linebacker prospects in Indiana.
He’s always been active on social media, part of what prospects do these days to gain recruiting momentum. But for some reason, his post on Jan. 4 announcing a visit to West Virginia blew up as people grappled with the pronunciation of his last name. He had taken an unofficial visit to West Virginia this past fall and made a similar social media post, but this one got a lot of attention for some reason.
Most of the reactions were light-hearted and fun, with the post on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) registering over 29 million views.
“So I don’t know why but I’ve always posted on my Twitter and stuff and my name has always been there,” Knigga said.
“But I think a lot of it goes to the ‘ESPN Gameday’ crew and they were talking about (it)…that was a big topic. I post to say I’m going visit West Virginia last Wednesday. And then my family’s retweeting or reposting stuff and some of the West Virginia people are reposting it because they’ve seen my film and stuff. So, the West Virginia people are sharing it. Honestly, I think it just started to get on the trending for that day or something and everyone just started reposting and the views just kept on going up.”
There are no Power Five or FBS offers yet for Knigga, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them start coming. He is a model student with good size and production for the next level.
I’ll be taking a visit to West Virginia on January 14th! Excited for the great opportunity. @WVUfootball @NealBrown_WVU @CoachKoonz @trey_neyer @CoachLesley_WVU @CoachNardo14 @LBurgFootball @lhstigercoach pic.twitter.com/YwpIvyGcFS
— Noah Knigga (@KniggaNoah) January 4, 2024
Knigga had 51 total tackles and two sacks in six games last year. He is proven and productive – in three years of high school football, he has made 207 total tackles and 14 sacks.
The whirlwind of attention was more than Knigga anticipated, but he said it has been nothing but a positive. Not only are the likes of Robert Griffin III talking about him, but all the social media impressions have led to some big-time exposure for his recruitment.
His Hudl highlights, which had several hundred views at the beginning of the month, are now over 50,000. And it isn’t just social media clout that is coming in for Knigga.
The exposure is leading to some significant college football programs reaching out and wanting his film. Coaches are calling to establish a relationship. Programs are asking about potential visits.
But for the fuss about his name, Knigga would likely not have blown up so soon, so fast. Indiana, Kentucky, Liberty and Northwestern have all reached out to Knigga since he went viral.
Relationships formed, he said, since all the buzz started last week.
“Ain’t no shame in the Knigga name”
Sitting down with the Knigga family PART 2 https://t.co/n2oBSJ3bIo pic.twitter.com/pA3HDOnQY8— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 10, 2024
The name caught some headlines, but his production and film is what is leading to his recruitment starting to grow.
“I definitely want to use this as a springboard. It’s great that everyone’s using my name and stuff or as a joke to get a good laugh out of it. I’ve seen some of the jokes and I laugh because some of this stuff is really funny that I see but I’m just trying to propel this forward in my football career honestly,” Knigga said.
“Because when I posted on X – I wouldn’t post if I didn’t want to go to college for football, and that’s something I really want to do so I can have my college paid for and I don’t have to be in debt in a few years. I mean, that’s one of the big things I want to do. I just want to make sure my parents don’t have to pay for anything once I’m out of college. So I mean, honestly, I just want to take it to the next level.”
Knigga is taking college prep and Advanced Placement courses. He currently holds a 4.195 GPA.
