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Before New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks was a Super Bowl champion, he was a North Carolina Tar Heel. Before he was a Tar Heel, he played for coach Tom Knotts at Independence High School.
Knotts is probably the best high school football coach in N.C. history, with teams he constructed once winning 109 games in a row and seven state championships in seven seasons.
Before Nicks' senior year, Knotts drove him two hours to Chapel Hill and basically convinced the Tar Heels coaches to offer Nicks a scholarship. And Nicks hadn't played much at all as a junior.
Knotts knew Nicks was special. Nicks became one of the best wide receivers the Tar Heels have had. Sunday night, Nicks became a Super Bowl champion when New York beat New England 21-17.
Nicks never forgot where he came from, inviting Knotts to the game. Another former Knotts' player, Cleveland Brown Mohamed Massaquoi, tweeted a photo of Nicks and Knotts after the Giants' big win.
Massaquoi said Knotts texted him Monday, saying that it was up to Massaquoi to get the Browns to the Super Bowl next -- and invite his old high school coach.
In a tweet, Massaquoi said Nicks told him, "You've got to make that happen."
