Jason Slowey carried a pair of shoulder pads during practice at Sacramento State on Wednesday even though the players were not wearing them. The assistant coach needed the pads for a drill in which the defensive tackles lock horns with an offensive lineman and then fight through the block.
Slowey played the role of the lineman and strapped on the pads so the tackles could grab them to gain leverage against a would-be blocker. He might have also worn them for protection just in case one of the defensive linemen happened to forget it was a practice drill and got a little carried away.
There was a time when Slowey would have had little problem going toe to toe with any one of the players today. He was a four-year starter at offensive tackle and a two-time Division II All-American at Western Oregon. The 49ers selected Slowey in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Senior defensive tackle Brandon Knott is 12 years younger than the 35-year-old Slowey, but Knott figures respect for his elders does not matter when Slowey is wearing shoulder pads and rekindling his competitive fire. “(Slowey) loves to throw on the pads,” Knott said, “and get physical with us.”
Slowey’s professional career lasted just two years, so he returned to Western Oregon to become an assistant coach. He was hired by Sacramento State head coach Andy Thompson in 2023 to coach edge rushers. Slowey also runs drills for the tackles with defensive line coach Kraig Paulson.
The hiring of Paulson in 2019 came when Sacramento State was recruiting Knott from Inderkum High in Sacramento. Will Plemons was the defensive line coach in 2018 and convinced Knott to commit to Sacramento State, but Plemons left for Fresno State before Knott arrived.
Knott joined the Hornets after Troy Taylor was hired to replace head coach Jody Sears, who was let go after a 2-8 finish in 2018. Taylor hired Thompson as the defensive coordinator and the two paid a visit to Knott to ensure he understood the scholarship offer was good even though Plemons left.
And Knott’s scholarship is still good nearly two years after Taylor left to become Stanford’s coach. This is Knott’s sixth year at Sacramento State. He redshirted in 2019 and had to wait out COVID-19 before finally getting an opportunity to play in 2021. This season is Knott’s first as a full-time starter.
A hamstring injury forced Knott to miss the first two games of his final season, but he has made his presence felt since returning. The 6-foot-3, 278-pound Knott has 12 tackles and two sacks in three games. With seven games to go, Knott is on pace to surpass his career high of 32 tackles in 2022.
Saturday’s game against Eastern Washington at Hornet Stadium will be another “last” for Knott. He will never again face the Eagles, who have lost two in a row to the Hornets after an eight-game winning streak in the series. Eastern Washington leads the series 19-6 and is 12-1 in Sacramento.
Even the bye last week was a “last.” Knott was deprived of playing an FBS team for the last time when he missed the San Jose State and Fresno State games. That also meant he avoided the last two bus rides of his career. As much as he loves his teammates, traveling with them on a bus is a bit much.
Knott enjoys the company of his teammates as long as they realize he will not be going to parties with them, keeping late hours or buying adult beverages for those not of legal drinking age. “I get tired. I’m cranky at times,” Knott said. “I’m well into the end of my time in college.”
