McKnight's USC move leaves storm behind in Bayou
It's amazing what a disaster does to everyday life. McKnight couldn't be contacted because his cell was down. Hometown news, while he was in Shreveport, came via rumor and television. Sometimes they were the same thing.
"What concerned me is people were out there killing people," McKnight said. "I didn't really want to go back home."
His mother Jennifer had relocated to Baton Rouge. McKnight eventually returned to New Orleans and stayed with his coach. Mother and family are now reunited. A sister, Johanna, plays basketball at Richmond. A younger brother Jonathan is a freshman football prospect at Curtis.
John Curtis took it all in and collaborated on a book, "Hurricane Season", that is due to be released next month.
If that sounds like exploitation, it isn't. It begins to explain why an exodus is important not just to LSU fans, but to the region. Any loss of any commodity is significant. The book isn't about just Joe McKnight anyway. It's about where he is from, which starts to explain what he is.
"Joe has the ability to see beyond the tackler," Curtis said.
Past Louisiana, all the way to the West Coast, and beyond.
