HOOVER, Ala. -- In one amazing afternoon, the growing panic at Texas A&M seemed to subside.
In one amazing afternoon, it was OK to believe in the NCAA mission again.
In one amazing afternoon, Trevor Knight's presence here calmed, well, everything.
No longer was the sky falling in College Station, Texas, in the wake of coach Kevin Sumlin losing two five-star quarterbacks (Kyle Allen, Kyler Murray) and an offensive coordinator (Jake Spavital) after the 2015 season. No longer should we pay any attention to those who decry the graduate transfer rule.
Texas A&M's new starting quarterback may not be a salvation for the Aggies, but how he got here is exactly how the system should work.
"Right now," Knight said Tuesday during the 2016 SEC Media Days, "I'm a fresh start."
Right now, that's the best kind of start at Texas A&M. Knight was speaking to reporters about a derailed career rejuvenated in College Station. His impact has been much broader.
Knight arrived as a graduate transfer from Oklahoma in January, won the job in April and immediately gives the slumping Aggies a renewed fighting chance in the SEC.
As a 22-year-old senior, he comes pre-packaged for Sumlin. Knight started 15 games for the Sooners, won a Sugar Bowl and has become a crush for Katy Perry.
Special? There are two current college quarterbacks walking the Earth who have beaten Alabama. Ole Miss' Chad Kelly arrives in Hoover on Thursday.
The other, Knight, took the stage Tuesday.
"He's been at the highest highs: He's been able to win games against quality opponents," Sumlin said. "And he's lost his job."
That's essentially why we gathered here to listen to Knight's story. After that December upheaval, Allen transferred to Houston, taking his interstate shots once he got there. Murray went to Oklahoma, making for some sort of ironic even trade with TAMU.
With a pair of recruiting gems gone and Sumlin's rep as a quarterback whisperer dinged, the question was rightly asked: What the heck is going on in College Station?
Sumlin answered by recruiting an experienced, in-demand, well-spoken student-athlete who just might be able to play a little bit.
With Knight, the problem may not be immediately solved, but the concern is alleviated for the moment.
"We wouldn't have been able to have a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator [Noel Mazzone] in a week and a half if we didn't have a plan," Sumlin boasted.
Besides his story being intriguing as hell, Knight is the walking, talking exemplar of all that is right with college athletics.
In three seasons at Oklahoma, he threw for 3,400 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also threw some incredibly bad pick-sixes, got benched, got injured and lost his job when Baker Mayfield emerged.
The Katy Perry thing? A fleeting romance started on ESPN Game Day that never got further than social media.
If not a savior for the Aggies, Knight is at least a sage. It made sense for him to look elsewhere. The San Antonio native was originally interested in Texas A&M. After the quarterback exodus, Sumlin needed a ready-made starter.
It was a perfect match. Knight recently documented his decision for Sports Illustrated.
"Even as a little kid, you want to come in and be the guy and win the Heisman Trophy and win the national championship," Knight said. "That's the cookie cutter way to do it.
"This is giving me an opportunity to maybe put some things in the past. That's stepping out of your comfort zone for a lot of guys."
You have to believe a guy who has been on mission trips to Haiti three times. He also saw his playing time diminish when Oklahoma's new offensive coordinator (Lincoln Riley) found the perfect guy to run his Air Raid system (Mayfield).
There was an amicable parting.
"I still talk to Baker every week," Knight said.
Any criticism over the graduate transfer rule just seems silly at this point. Significant push-back has developed over the 11-year NCAA rule that allows players who have completed their undergraduate degrees with eligibility remaining to compete elsewhere without sitting a year.
FBS commissioners may have legislation ready to address it by the 2017 NCAA Convention in January. But why? Until Florida State graduate transfer Jacob Coker won a national championship at Alabama, Russell Wilson at Wisconsin may have been the poster child for the rule.
There have been others, but the rule is now generally accepted except by those who still refer to it as college free agency.
Coaches are concerned about roster management. Nebraska basketball just lost its leading scorer, Andrew White III, who took advantage of the grad transfer rule to seek out the third program of his career.
Yeah, that's harsh. Other, different critics have bloviated that the spirit of the rule is being exploited. But how? The NCAA asks you to do one thing first: graduate.
Arguing anything else is hypocrisy considering the job hopping coaches engage in. The NCAA can't roll back the grad transfer rule now. Someone would likely get sued.
"Coaches push to get your GPA up and get your degree," Knight said. "I did all those things. I was captain on the team. I did everything they ever asked me to do. I just missed being on the field."
And so not only does Knight deserve to be at Texas A&M, he deserves to be on some NCAA marketing poster. He has a business management degree. He's taking graduate classes at TAMU's prestigious Mays Business School.
"I've had guys graduate and transfer from my program," Sumlin said. "If a guy has come into your program and done everything you've asked him to do, kept his nose clean and he's graduated -- which is the No. 1 reason he's come there -- I think it's more than fair."
Take it from the coach who has seen first hand the best and worst of Johnny Manziel.
"Obviously Coach Sumlin needed a guy, and I was a guy who was able and willing to play," Knight said.
Why make it any more complicated than that?