More: Coordinator's Corner: Tony Levine | Sindelar ready to take on full-time QB reins

Analysis ($): Vs.: Long-term backup, Sipe or Sparks?

The play was vintage D.J. Knox.

In the first half on a fourth-and-short against Illinois, Knox got a pitch from David Blough and tried to bust outside. Soon after crossing the line of scrimmage, he was grabbed by a defender, who just hung on. Another came up from the safety spot to deliver a blow, as Knox turned his back to absorb it.

But Knox's legs never stopped moving.

At one point, he was even running toward the goal line with his back turned, before spinning around. And off every defender who seemingly had him tackled initially and then, for good measure, he slipped another weak tackle attempt before turning on the jets and racing to the end zone to finish a 33-yard touchdown run.

But instead of celebrating wildly or with a dramatic pose — like he did on his first touchdown of the season, after a reception — Knox went down to a knee and said a prayer.

In that moment, he wasn’t in Ross-Ade Stadium. Wasn't even in Indiana.

Knox was back home in Georgia, with all of his being focused on his father, Dexter. Dexter Junior — that’s what D.J. stands for — had found a great way to pay tribute to his dad, who had a stroke about a week ago and is recovering in a hospital.

“I just wanted to find a way to honor him and show him I love him. I just wanted to do that, my little token to my father,” D.J. Knox said after Tuesday’s practice. “He’s actually doing a lot better. He’s getting better. That’s the plus side about everything.

“I actually had an opportunity to go home for, like, two days and visit him in the hospital. It was kind of rough. I was thinking the only way to make this situation better is to play even harder. So that’s kind of my sole motivation at this point in the season, to try to make my father happy.”

It’s a safe bet Dexter Sr. is exactly that.