As we sit months away from the start of the 2026 campaign, Outside the Huddle is revisiting our ongoing feature of each area program’s top five players of the 21st century, which sits at 25 seasons in both football and basketball.
Bishop Luers has been a hotbed of talent for decades, with several alums reaching the pinnacle of the sport – the NFL. So how did we pick just five Knights since 2000? It wasn’t easy.
Reminder, this is based on high school career performance ONLY. This is by no means a definitive list and, if anything, is encouraging debate on potential omissions to this list.
Through exhaustive research, reaching out to former coaches and players and our own personal opinion, here is the OTH Quarter Century Team for the Bishop Luers Knights.
Note: The list is in alphabetical order
James Knapke, Class of 2012
At the time of his graduation in 2012, Knapke was the only starting quarterback in Indiana high school football history to win three state titles – 2009, 2010 and 2011 – a record that is believed to still be his alone.
When his career at Bishop Luers was finished, Knapke was the SAC’s all-time leading passer with 5,983 yards and 76 passing scores in his prep career. It was a record formerly held by current Bishop Luers coach Kyle Lindsay.
At 6-foot-3 and about 190 pounds as a senior, Knapke could make all the throws inside and outside of the pocket. In the three years as a starter from 2009-11, the Knights went 38-6. In his junior and senior seasons, Knapke rarely finished games due to blowouts, leaving the question open to how gaudy his stats could have been.
Knapke was named IFCA All-State in 2011.
Knapke’s lone FBS scholarship offer came from Bowling Green, where he battled coaching turnover to throw for 4,053 career yards and 20 touchdowns. He was named the Bart Starr MVP in the Camellia Bowl in a 33-28 win for Bowling Green over South Alabama where he threw for 368 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Kyle Lindsay, Class of 2002
When you talk about the “modern” era of high school quarterbacks, some will say that Lindsay was the best this area has ever seen.
The stats weren’t as gaudy as guys put up now, but Lindsay transcended the position of quarterback and set a new standard for what was expected behind center in the area.
Lindsay at 6-1, 200 pounds, propelled Bishop Luers to three state championship game appearances in three years, winning titles in 1999 and 2001 and losing to Evansville Mater Dei in 2000. The Knights only lost three games in three years in which Lindsay was the starting quarterback, two of which came in his sophomore season.
The 2001 Bishop Luers Knights are on the short list for best area football team ever. They blitzed through the SAC, with Snider the only team to give them a challenge (a 27-26 overtime win for Luers in Week 1). After getting housed by Mater Dei by 46 points in the state final in 2000, the Knights returned the favor in 2001, beating the Wildcats 57-29 as Lindsay threw for 154 yards and a pair of scores.
He was the SAC’s all-time leading passer when he finished his prep career, but his collegiate future was on the pitching mound as he attended and played for the University of Dayton.
Austin Mack, Class of 2016
Bishop Luers has had many top-end wide receivers in its history. Austin Mack was its best.
No one could contain Mack in single coverage, and he feasted on teams that thought they could marginalize him.
For three years, Mack was an absolute terror for the Knights. All told, he hauled in 167 receptions for 2,672 yards and 24 touchdowns. While his most pedestrian season catching the ball was his senior campaign (41 catches, 805 yards, six touchdowns), Mack was used as an all-purpose player that year as he also rushed for 718 yards and 13 scores as Bishop Luers put him in the Wildcat and other formations to maximize his talents. He was voted Indiana Mr. Football runner-up that season.
Arguably the most epic game for Mack was in a loss, a 43-38 setback against Carroll on Sept. 25, 2015. In that game, Mack and Carroll quarterback Aidan Smith went back and forth making play after play, seemingly a one-on-one battle in a team sport. Mack finished that game with 293 total yards and five touchdowns.
Mack went on to Ohio State and, eventually, the NFL, spending time with the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons. He currently plays in the CFL with the Edmonton Elks.
Jaylon Smith, Class of 2013
Jaylon Smith is the best football player to ever suit up for Bishop Luers. Period.
Offense. Defense. Smith did it all. He was a two-time IFCA All-State Player, and was named 2012 Indiana Mr. Football, the first and still only local athlete to ever be honored with the award.
A five-star prospect in high school, Smith dominated wherever he lined up at the high school level. In his junior season, he finished with 51 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and eight sacks at linebacker, while rushing for 1,319 yards and 25 touchdowns. As a senior, he went for 72 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two forced fumbles and 1,265 rushing yards and 18 scores.
Smith played the game with energy and joy. He seemingly always had a smile on his face, yet was relentlessly violent in the way he played the game.
Smith attended Notre Dame, where he was named the Butkus Award winner in 2015 for the nation’s best linebacker, an award he also earned in high school. He suffered a terrible knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State, and saw his NFL Draft stock take a hit. He was still taken in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys and sat out the entire 2016 campaign as he recovered. He played portions of seven seasons in the NFL, most recently in 2023 for Las Vegas.
Anthony Spencer, Class of 2003
While Jaylon Smith is the best all-around player to ever wear the red and black of Bishop Luers, Spencer is, by all accounts, the best defensive talent in program history.
What was amazing about Spencer was his ability to wreak havoc no matter what offenses did to stop him. Spencer commanded double and triple teams in the middle of the Knights’ defense, but still made play after play. A three-year starter at both nose guard and fullback, he set program records for career tackles and career sacks. He also averaged over nine yards per carry for his career.
Spencer was a two-time IFCA All-State player in 2000 and 2001 while being named All-SAC on three separate occasions. He was named the Indianapolis Star’s Defensive Lineman of the Year as a senior.
Spencer had just two FBS scholarship offers and chose Purdue over Michigan State. He developed into one of the top edge players in the entire country with the Boilermakers and was drafted in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys with the 26th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played seven years with Dallas, making a Pro Bowl in 2012.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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