On Saturday, February 8, 2024, the emotion could be felt all throughout Brooklet Community Church as loved ones, friends, family, coaches, and supporters all over the community of Brooklet came to watch homeschool student Jase Knight fulfill his lifelong dream.
After his standout season with the Coastal Homeschool Hurricanes, where he earned a spot on the All-American team in the 8-man ranks, Jase weighed out multiple offers from colleges across the nation finally landing on the Dubuque Spartans.
The signing all began with heartwarming words from both of Jase's parents, Jason Knight and Crystal Washburn Knight, as they expressed to the audience in attendance the pure dedication of their son on his journey to accomplish something that may have been unthinkable years prior. Jason explained how he is beyond proud of Jase as he was granted the opportunity to live out his own dreams through his son's accomplishments. This significant milestone has impacted the whole family as they watch Jase start to take his next steps.
Head coach of the Coastal HomeSchool Hurricanes Richard Moore would next give his closing words on Jase as he parts ways with one of the team's cornerstone pieces. Moore would also bring up the Hurricanes offensive coordinator to allow everyone in attendance to know just how special of an athlete Jase was for the team.
“His ability to excel, his ability to play hard on the field, but also lead his team by example. And as a running back, if I had eight more of you, we would be unstoppable. So I appreciate you very much. I appreciate the opportunity that you've given me to let me coach you. You're coachable. You listen, and whoever's getting you next, they're going to be looking at it. Thank you very much,” said Richard Moore.
The main event of the signing was the closing statements from Jase as he pulled out all of the emotions from everyone in attendance explaining his journey from almost giving up his dream to now accomplishing the unthinkable. Before his outstanding senior year where he became a standout in 8-man ranks, Jase was tested throughout his football career.
He was marked out by other previous football coaches as someone who was just a “scout team hero”.
“Pretty much they would say he wasn't good enough, judging his character, coaches calling him only a scout team hero, because he would show up their starters, and yet they would just not play him and calling him a scout team hero really made him mad,” said Jason Knight.
These challenges were felt by the whole family, and everyone in attendance began to become emotional while listening to Jase talk about the journey. Jase would thank everyone in his closing statements on the impacts each person has had on his life.
He expressed overwhelming gratitude for each person's sacrifice towards fueling his lifelong goal. After thoughtful consideration from multiple schools, Jase decided that he would be taking his talents to the next level at the University of Dubuque.
“You know, they have a really nice facility program. And so I thought, hey, this is a good fit for me. I want to play offense. I love the coaches. I talked to a couple of them, and I thought it was a great fit because it's been a very long journey from starting football all the way to now it's up and down. Years. The first three years of high school weren't the best. But once I moved it all went uphill from there, and now we're going up Iowa,” said Jase Knight.
Now as Jase Knight closes one chapter of his life, he enters a new one, traveling 16 hours to continue pursuing the dream of playing football on the collegiate level as a Spartan.
