DE PERE – A few short weeks before the St. Norbert College (SNC) football team laced up the cleats and put on the pads, Coach Dan McCarty said the team was still looking for an offensive line coach.

Enter Knox Christopher into the equation.

“We were in search of a new offensive line coach, and it was somewhat unexpected [with the short time frame],” McCarty said. “It’s always tough to find quality coaches late in the summer. We didn’t have a ton of applicants, but when I reached out to Knox’s former head coach, I found out that he recruited 55 kids himself last season [at Clayton State University, an NCAA Division II college in Morrow, Georgia].”

McCarty joked that piece of information was left off of his new assistant coach’s resume.

“It should have been on his resume,” he laughed. “That sparked my interest to get on the phone with Knox. I could tell he was going to be a great recruiter from our interactions. On the Friday before chatting with him, I was worried about what we could get. Later that day, I felt much better about the situation — I think we found a gem in Knox. He’s already been a great fit, and our players love him.”

Moving from Georgia to De Pere

After serving as the running backs coach and running game coordinator at Clayton State, Christopher — a Barnesville, Ga., native — told The Press Times that in addition to his part-time coaching duties, he also held another full-time job as a recreation sports coordinator in Georgia.

Looking for a full-time coaching gig and a bit of a “slower pace to life,” he said he found the SNC job “very appealing,” despite living a thousand miles and a 15-hour drive away.

“In Georgia, I was driving an hour each way to practice every day and working both jobs,” Christopher said. “When I saw the SNC opening, I felt led to apply and felt I would be a good fit.”

Living in Barnesville for the duration of his life, Christopher, 25, said the quick turnaround for him and his wife, Madison, wasn’t the easiest to navigate at the time, with needing to pack up their belongings, find a place to live in De Pere and move away from family.

Despite his immediate/extended family still living in Georgia, he said he knew the situation in De Pere was right for them as a family.

After interviewing for the position virtually, Christopher said the first time they set foot in De Pere was the day they moved into their apartment.

“Everything fit into place for us,” he said. “My wife immediately got a job up here, so within a week and a half of me accepting the job, we were packing our cars up and heading north.”

Christopher earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at Gordon State College before receiving his master’s in secondary education and teaching at Georgia Southern University.

Before coaching at the collegiate level, he had stints at Strong Rock Christian School and Jackson High School, working as the offensive line coach.

“It didn’t take much convincing from my wife,” Christopher said. “When we got together, she knew coaching was my thing, but I’m not sure she realized it would be 15 hours from home. She told me from the start that she’d support me wherever I go as long as it made sense — this one definitely made sense.”

With Northeast Wisconsin in full fall mode, and with another harsh winter approaching, Christopher jokingly said he’s not used to wearing sweatshirts this time of year.

“The weather is different for sure, especially when it gets down to 50 at night,” he laughed. “I’ve really never experienced a true winter before, so it will be interesting. I think the most snow I’ve seen previously in Georgia is probably about four or five inches.”

In addition to his full-time coaching duties, Christopher said fans will also be able to catch him at some SNC hockey games this fall as a game manager, helping to make sure things run smoothly.

Georgia roots run deep

Growing up in Georgia, Christopher said he was — and still is — an Atlanta Falcons fan, but he’s always had respect for the Green and Gold.

“I loved watching Packers games, too, especially when it was snowing,” he said. “One of the first things I wanted to do when I got up here was go see Lambeau Field. In the Atlanta area, traffic is crazy, so it’s been nice to be a lot closer to things up here with less traffic. I went to a preseason game, and that was a lot of fun. I’d say Atlanta is 1A, and the Packers are 1B for me. That Thursday night game [on Sept. 24] put me between a rock and a hard place.”

After losing their first two nonconference games of the season, the Green Knights got into the win column on Sept. 19 with a 31-0 conference road victory over Eureka College.

SNC continues its season by hosting Wisconsin Lutheran College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Schneider Stadium.