As athletes around the country begin finalizing their decisions on their near future, some of them are taking to social media to announce their plans for the next level. VYPE DFW caught up with Southlake Carroll quarterback, Graham Knowles, after he announced his commitment to the Georgia Tech football program this week.
Building something special! COMMITTED and ALL IN 🐝! @GeorgiaTechFB #TogetherWeSwarm@ChrisWeinke16 @CoachBrentKey @coachrdodge @OldSchoolQB @Coach_Stanfield @CarrollDragonFB pic.twitter.com/09SzaXWLqy
— Graham Knowles (@grahamknowles24) June 18, 2023
As an athlete who has worked hard to help his team, it is clear that Knowles is dedicated to putting in the hard work and giving his all to his team. Playing in 13 games last season (with five starts), Knowles threw for 1,864 yards while tallying 18 touchdowns with a 73% completion percentage. Check out VYPE DFW's exclusive interview with Knowles below:
Leaving home isn't always an easy decision to make. What impacted your choice when deciding to commit to Georgia Tech?
"Leaving home to head to Georgia Tech was an easy choice because of how much of a family the team is. When you have guys looking out for each other and all striving towards the same end goal, it's easy to come into that system and find success."
What has been your favorite memory playing with Southlake Carroll so far?
"My favorite memory would be beating McKinney in the third round of playoffs. We played a sloppy first half with a bunch of penalties and were down 14 points, I think, at halftime. They got the ball first coming back out. Nevertheless, we fought back and took the lead late in the fourth quarter on a fade in the endzone; a moment I'll never forget."
What professional athlete do you look up to and why?
"Growing up, I looked up to guys like Tom Brady and Payton Manning. I was always amazed at how they played the game by always being a step ahead with their football IQ."
What has been your biggest accomplishment in your high school career?
"So far, it's taking our team to the fourth round, but we are working on changing that next year and ending the season on a win. With next year's goal being the state championships."
Do you have a game day routine that you stick to?
"Routine-wise, I'm a music guy. I always have to have my pre-game mix going strong in my headphones."
What do you do in the offseason to ensure your skills are sharp going into the next season?
"In the off-season is when we make our money. Ever since last year ended, we have been going at it to try and improve 1% every single day whether that is early morning lifts and conditioning to throwing routes."
What is your mindset going into each season?
"Our mindset going into each season is to play to our standard. Southlake Carroll has a storied past and standard of play upheld by Coach Dodge. So instead of worrying about whoever we are playing, we worry about ourselves and we know if we handle our business the outcome will follow. That's also a major part to the repeated success at Southlake-- having a bunch of players buy into that idea."
