Demetrius Knight's journey from being an almost-SEC quarterback to a likely NFL Draft pick at linebacker

South Carolina linebacker Demetrius Knight was only on campus in Columbia for one year, but he left a mark on the Gamecocks. In addition to an honorable mention All-SEC campaign, Knight was one of the biggest leaders on a strong USC defense. Oh, yeah, and he made that interception to seal the victory over the rival Clemson Tigers.

This April, Knight is all but guaranteed to be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. He brings one of the draft’s best combinations of size and athleticism at the off-ball linebacker position. However, a long and winding journey from the high school class of 2019 to the NFL Draft class of 2025 almost played out much differently.

SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic calls Knight “The Most Interesting Man in the SEC” and had the future NFL defender on his podcast Cube Show to talk about his journey. You can listen to the entire interview here.

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For those unfamiliar with Knight, he hasn’t always been a linebacker. In fact, he didn’t play the position at all in high school. The Georgia native was a triple-option quarterback at Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove, Georgia.

Knight told Cubelic about his positional journey. “I played zero linebacker, not a snap,” he said. “…just playing [quarterback] in the triple option, I was letting my legs do the majority of the work.” Watching him play, Knight moves fluidly and accelerates well as a linebacker. If one squints, it isn’t too hard to imagine him carrying the ball, especially at the high school level.

At 6’2″ and about 200 pounds as a prospect, Knight had to work hard to get noticed as a quarterback. Eventually, though, some big-time programs came knocking. His favorite at one point during his recruitment? One of South Carolina’s rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers.

“Tennessee, that actually was going to be my landing place,” Knight shared. “Butch Jones–they liked me very much at Tennessee…the week of [my] official visit, though, they would end up firing Butch Jones and the staff. I was back at square one.”

Tennessee didn’t run the triple option, but the Vols signed a couple of dual-threat quarterbacks in a row, and Knight certainly fit that bill. When his Knoxville-based plans were taken from him, Knight caught on with his hometown program, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. However, between the time of his commitment to GT and his enrollment, head coach Paul Johnson retired.

Knight’s scholarship at Georgia Tech was honored, but there wasn’t really a place in the Yellow Jackets’ quarterback room for him. He played a little under center but spent most of his time at a new position: linebacker. As Knight remembers, new head coach Geoff Collins informed him of his new role during a team meeting. “[During an introductory team meeting,] I got up there and said my whole deal. I went to say I was a quarterback, and Coach Collins cut me off and said, ‘You’re an athlete.’ So, I kind of knew from that point on that quarterback may not be in the description.”

Because the transition to linebacker wasn’t a smooth one, Knight nearly gave up football. However, he credits his faith in God and his strong support system for convincing him to keep going. When Cubelic asked Knight who talked him out of moving on from football, he replied, “My Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ…my mom as well…and my strength coaches.” His faith in God, his support from his mother, and the belief in his potential from the strength staff gave him the desire to keep working.

For four years, he was a reserve for the ‘Jackets who made some plays but never got an opportunity to start. Even so, Knight was a special teams stud, and he flashed his potential from his reserve role. Because of the “Covid redshirt” of 2020 and a traditional redshirt in 2023, he had two years of eligibility remaining.

Still, after four years in Atlanta, a change of scenery was best for Knight. “I wanted to take a shot on myself, take a chance on myself,” he said. That chance came in the transfer portal. Following his transfer from Georgia Tech, Knight thought he would wind up as a Florida Gator. However, when that fell through, he spent one year at Charlotte.

The move worked out well on the field as he earned all-conference honors in the American Athletic Conference. Off the field, to support his family (Knight is married with two children, one of whom was born while he was at Charlotte), both he and his wife spent time working for DoorDash.

From there, Knight decided to move back up to the power conference level for his final season. With some help from his wife in the decision-making process, he picked South Carolina. The Gamecocks prioritized him in his transfer portal recruitment, and according to a previous conversation with GamecockCentral, he fell in love with the program immediately.

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Despite not receiving as much fanfare as some of his defensive teammates like Kyle Kennard, Nick Emmanwori, or Dylan Stewart, Knight was a force for the Gamecocks this fall. He finished with 82 tackles, a number good for second place on the team.

Knight was part of a crowded linebacker room but stood out as both the biggest (now weighing in at 245 pounds) and the fastest (clocked running just under 22 miles per hour this season) of the bunch.

Because of his big year and impressive physical makeup, Knight has exploded onto the NFL Draft scene. Considered a late-round option for most of the season, draft analysts have taken notice of the Gamecock captain recently.

Most NFL Draft mocks include Knight as a third, fourth, or fifth-round pick. However, PFF recently gave Knight a first-round grade, and several national analysts (like ESPN’s Mel Kiper) have projected him into the second round.

Knight was one of 11 Gamecocks (or 12 if Kai Kroeger’s specialist invitation counts) invited to the NFL Combine. Expected to test well, Knight’s stock could improve even further before April’s draft.

When Knight earns his NFL Draft selection, he will be the first Gamecock linebacker taken since Ernest Jones in 2021. If he cracks the first round, he will be the first full-time USC ‘backer to go that high.

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