Viral Recruit Noah Knigga Recaps Visit to WVU

Class of 2025 linebacker discusses his trip to Morgantown.

Over the last few weeks the only person who might have gained more attention than Taylor Swift swag surfing at a football game is class of 2025 linebacker Noah Knigga out of Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

I'll admit, when the name first came across my desk, I dismissed it - thought it was a fake account trying to get people. But I was wrong. He's a legit recruit who recently just took a visit to West Virginia and no, his name isn't pronounced how you think. It's “Ka-nay-guh.”

A couple days ago, I caught up with Knigga to learn more about the media attention he's received over the last few weeks and of course, his trip to Morgantown. 

"It has been an insane two weeks with all the media and everything. I made one post about going on a visit to WVU and it kinda blew up with 30 million views," Knigga told Mountaineers Now. "I have had multiple people reach out talking to me about different things. I didn’t really expect this to blow up how it did but it has been kind of a blessing in disguise."

He's done interviews with just about everyone imaginable, including Robert Griffin III, where he first told the world how you actually pronounce his name.

The Knigga Family went viral so I decided to sit down and get to know the Knigga’s behind the name. pic.twitter.com/aSSqOk4qhU

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 9, 2024

The name didn't fool college recruiters, though. They know about his dad, Ryan, who is the head coach at Lawrenceburg. If anything, all of the media attention has put him more on the radar.

West Virginia was one of the first to offer Knigga, alongside Miami (Ohio) and James Madison. He's also received interest from Arkansas State, Indiana, Liberty, Western Michigan, and a few others but at the moment, West Virginia sits near the top.

"I would say in the top two for sure! It’s a great place to be. All the people are amazing and really make it feel like home. Got to see all the facilities and campus was neat. Made a lot of good connections. They know how to coach the game of football and are great people when it comes to life."

His lead recruiter is inside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Jeff Koonz, who compared him to a current player on the roster.

"I got to be around him all day. I’d say our relationship is very tight and we can talk and relate to different things. Very honest and straightforward which is great for me. I got to talk about where they saw me at and one of the crazy things is Ben Cutter and I have the same measurements. So he sees me playing that role."

There is no timeline for a decision at the moment for the junior linebacker. He will likely let his recruitment play out during the spring and summer before narrowing things down. 

This past season, he recorded 51 tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles.

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