Bam! Jets' Zonovan Knight goes from undrafted to an impact player

Zonovan Knight was miserable on the third day of this year’s NFL Draft.

The running back from North Carolina State with the nickname “Bam” believed that he had established himself as a fifth-round pick, or a sixth-rounder at the latest.

Knight was with his family and his high school coach, Brian Foster, watching the draft and waiting for the phone to ring. It never happened. Knight couldn’t believe it.

“Definitely miserable is the way to put it. Definitely miserable,” he said. “I got in my own head. My high school coach pulled me to the side and said it doesn’t matter how you get there, it matters what you do when you get there. I took that to heart and pretty much have been working ever since.”

The Jets were one of the many teams interested in Knight as an undrafted rookie free agent. His agent narrowed it down to the Jets and three other teams: the Vikings, Ravens and Lions. At his agent’s suggestion, he chose the Jets, and they’re glad he did.

Knight, 21, has provided a big lift the last two games, and he’s expected to be heavily involved in Sunday’s game plan against Buffalo and for the foreseeable future. The return of Michael Carter, who missed last week’s game with an ankle injury, shouldn’t change that.

Coach Robert Saleh said Knight’s “not going anywhere.”

The 5-10, 210-pound Knight had 69 rushing yards and 34 receiving yards in his NFL debut in Week 12 against the Bears. Last week, he rushed for 90 yards on 15 carries and caught five passes for 28 yards against the Vikings.

Knight and Phillip Lindsay are the only undrafted players in the Super Bowl era to total more than 100 scrimmage yards in each of their first two NFL games.

“He’s brought such a presence and a style that we needed in terms of just putting his foot in the ground and digging out yards,” Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “It usually isn’t even the second guy that brings him down. The whole cavalry usually needs to come.

“That kind of style brings juice to not just myself as a play-caller but the entire unit. The O-line feeds off that. The D-line sees it. Not only has he helped out our run game, but he’s helped our offense and our team just with the juice and the style that he brings.”

That takes us to his nickname. You would think “Bam” comes from bouncing off of or running over would-be tacklers, which Knight has a knack of doing. It does not.

Knight said his mother told him that when was in his playpen as a baby, he would beat on some of his toys. His uncle walked by and said, “All you hear is Bam. Bam. Bam.”

It stuck.

“That was a family nickname,” Knight said. “When I started playing rec ball, I guess it was easier to pronounce than Zonovan so people just started calling me Bam.”

Knight didn’t expect the Jets to be calling his name to play a major role in some huge late-season games.

He impressed in training camp, but the Jets released him on Sept. 5 and signed him to the practice squad the next day. He wasn’t signed to the active roster until Oct. 25 after lead back Breece Hall suffered a season-ending ACL tear.

The Jets had just acquired former 1,000-yard rusher James Robinson from the Jaguars, and it seemed it would be Carter, Robinson and Ty Johnson handling the backfield duties. But Knight kept impressing in practice.

The coaches decided to give Knight a chance against Chicago. Robinson was a healthy scratch, which could be the case again Sunday at Buffalo. Carter left the Bears game after hurting his ankle and Knight led the Jets in touches and yards. He followed that with an even better game last week.

“He got his opportunity and he’s run with it, quite literally,” said quarterback Mike White, who’s gone from the practice squad to the starter.

In the Minnesota game, Knight showed he can burst as much as he can bam. He took a handoff in the fourth quarter, turned the corner and ran down the left sideline for a 48-yard gain. The Jets’ clocked Knight at 4.39 seconds on his 40-yard split.

“What he’s shown is that he’s got juice,” Saleh said. “His GPS hit 4.39 on that long run on the sideline. Just pure gas. This time of year when legs get heavy and you got guys who can clock that on the GPS, it’s going to show differently, which I think it does.

“He runs with a physical mindset. He’s hungry. He’s young. He runs violently. When he turns the corner and he sticks his foot in the ground, it’s special.”

LaFleur said, “He’s only done it through two games right now. But he’s certainly made an impression, not just for coaches but more importantly for the locker room.”

Knight never doubted that he could do this in the NFL. He just wondered if he would get the chance to show it this season. Maybe next year, he thought.

Knight said it “was a blessing” that it happened, but he didn’t like that his opportunity emerged because Hall got hurt.

He credits his mother, his high school coach and his belief in God for keeping his spirits up throughout this season and pushing him to fight through the doubt.

Knight said there were times he “was dragging” and running backs coach Taylor Embree and special teams coordinator Brant Boyer told him to keep working and that his time would come.

“Then my mom was saying maybe God is saving you for like a special game,” Knight said. “It’s crazy how it ended up working for Chicago and Minnesota. Just having belief in God and keeping your head down and working.”

This whole experience has been surreal for Knight: to go from that miserable feeling when the draft ended to being an important piece of the Jets during a playoff race.

“I didn’t expect this,” he said. “As far being this point of the season, I definitely didn’t think I was going to be playing. To come in and be able to make an impact, it’s definitely a blessing.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.