Tony Knap
Now
Career arc
Stats
Big games
Pick a job to see its years on their own.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
2-2 against his rivals at Utah State. Winless in 3 tries against Lloyd Eaton.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
3-3 against his rivals at UNLV. Just 1-2 against LaVell Edwards.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
5-5 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Lloyd Eaton.
Building the roster
Two numbers on how he actually stocks a roster, from signing day to draft day.
Roster ownership
Roster ownership
This coach's entire tenure (1978-1981) predates 2021, when transfer-portal tracking begins in this database. Portal usage cannot be measured for this tenure at all -- this is not the same as '0% portal'.
“His own” means the player arrived while he was head coach; “inherited” means a predecessor brought him in.
The NFL pipeline
The NFL pipeline
players drafted into the NFL off his teams here (a floor — see the note below). None can be traced to who brought them in — there’s no roster record for these players here.
At least 6 — his 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 seasons predate the modern 7-round draft, so this table’s pre-1994 pick counts are a floor, not a full count, for those seasons.
| Year | Pick | Player | Pos | NFL team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | R4.16 | Todd Liebenstein | Defensive End |  Washington Redskins | Estimated |
| 1981 | R4.01 | Sam Greene | Wide Receiver |  Miami Dolphins | Estimated |
| 1980 | R4.16 | Ron Crews | Defensive End |  Cleveland Browns | Estimated |
| 1980 | R7.13 | Bob Batton | Running Back |  New York Jets | Estimated |
| 1979 | R2.27 | Aaron Mitchell | Defensive Back |  Dallas Cowboys | Estimated |
| 1979 | R5.07 | Cleveland Jackson | Tight End |  New York Giants | Estimated |
A pick counts toward his tenure when the player’s final college season was one he coached, a checkable rule rather than a claim about who developed the player. A blank note means the player is on a verified roster and arrived on his watch. “Estimated” means no roster record, so the final season is assumed to be the year before the draft.
Career
Coaching career
The arc of his career is on Now.
Steady no large move in either direction on our stature ladder
1st-best UNLV tenure of 12 by the numbers.
Succeeded by Harvey Hyde (1982–1985).
1st-best Utah State tenure of 22 by the numbers.
Followed John Ralston (1959–1962) · succeeded by Chuck Mills (1967–1972).
All-time wins
Wins at programs this site tracks, 1936–present — one consistent count for every coach, not each program’s own historically reported total.
1st all-time at UNLV
Was he good?
Only one of the usual three angles is measurable for this era — raised the program.
+8.8 pts at Utah State · #247 of 1290 · top quarter