Sammy Knight, who led the Florida A&M football team to one of the most memorable wins in school history, died Sunday at age 65.
Knight, a Tallahassee native, was the backup quarterback on the Rattlers’ 1978 Division I-AA national championship team. In his junior year of 1979, he led FAMU to a 16-13 upset win over Miami, Fla., at Doak Campbell Stadium on Florida State’s campus.
Knight was responsible for the game-winning drive, getting the Rattlers close enough for placekicker (and future Major League Baseball All-Star) Vince Coleman to kick the winning field goal from 34 yards out.
Florida A&M head coach James Colzie posted the news of Knight’s passing on X, formerly known as Twitter.
RIP to Rattler Legend Sammy Knight who passed away today. Sammie engineered the Rattlers’ 1979 victory over the University of Miami and was a key contributor on the 1978 National Championship Team. #FAMULY 🧡💚🐍 pic.twitter.com/LbVEt4UtdP
— James Colzie III (@CoachColzie) January 19, 2025
“RIP to Rattler Legend Sammy Knight, who passed away today,” Colzie wrote. “Sammy engineered the Rattlers’ 1979 victory of the University of Miami and was a key contributor to the 1978 National Championship team.”
The popular Facebook page Ghosts of the Orange Bowl also paid tribute to Knight on Tuesday.
