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Georgia Tech Football Recruiting: What the Jackets are getting in QB Demetrius Knight, a relative unknown

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 12: A general view of Bobby Dodd Stadium during the game between the of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Tulane Green Wave on September 12, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 12: A general view of Bobby Dodd Stadium during the game between the of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Tulane Green Wave on September 12, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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On Monday, the Georgia Tech football program received a commitment from relatively unknown quarterback Demetrius Knight.

Sometimes players burst onto the scene and shock coaching staffs and force their hands when it comes to handing out offers. One of those players it sounds like according to reports is quarterback Demetrius Knight.

Knight, a dual-threat quarterback from Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove, Georgia committed to the Yellow Jackets on Monday upon receiving an offer. The dual-threat quaterback is pretty unknown to even recruiting circles is unranked by all the major recruiting services but now with his commitment, a rating should come sooner than later.

Knight presents an interesting prospect for the Yellow Jackets as he stands at 6-foot-2 and 215-pounds while running an impressive forty-yard dash time of 4.46. For a better idea of his, former Yellow Jacket, Justin Thomas ran a 4.35 forty-yard dash in preparation for the NFL last spring. So while he’s not as fast as Justin Thomas, he is still a speed threat at quarterback which of course is highly helpful in the Jackets offense.

Of course at 6-foot-2 and 215-pounds, Knight is a size that will make him difficult to bring down but retain the ability to be extremely elusive. Now let’s take a look at high highlights and see what Knight presents. Of course, it is important to remember that these are highlights, so we’re never going to see an interception or bad pass but with that being said, let’s dig into the highlight tape.

Passer:

On the highlight tape, we can see that the Jackets coaching staff will have a strong foundation with Knight to work with. His mechanics are not the greatest but mechanics are workable, somethings you can’t teach are accuracy and touch. In Knight’s tape, you can see a good bit of accuracy from the signal caller and he also has touch to “float” a pass right into the hands of his wide receiver.

From the 50 second mark to the one minute mark in the highlight video above you’ll see two of his better throws in the video. In the first pass, Knight perfectly reads a great matchup for his wide receiver against a corner with no backup behind him and perfectly puts a pass in his receiver’s arms in the endzone.

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On the very next pass, we see Knight pump fake while his receiver runs a stop-and-go route. During the play, the opposing corner bites on the stop by Knight’s receiver who than uses a quick burst to get by the corner. As his receiver is getting by the corner, Knight throws a great pass to his receiver. The lone critique of the pass is that it eventually lead the receiver out of bounds while a throw a little more on target could’ve lead his receiver right into the endzone.

Rusher:

A quarterback at Georgia Tech under Paul Johnson will spend most of his time running the ball on the ground. While Knight’s passing game does present some foundations that the Yellow Jackets can work with, his abilities on the ground have to be exciting for the Jackets coaching staff.

As mentioned earlier, Knight’s forty-yard dash time is 4.46 which at 6-foot-1 and 215-pounds is pretty good. By the look of his highlight film, Knight carries the weight well and could even potentially add a little bit more weight to his frame though it’s not necessary. Now let’s get back to Knight’s abilities on the ground.

In Knight’s highlight video you see his ability to agile, elusive, and his ability to run over opposing defenders. That being said, he’s not going up against the best talent in the state but it’s impressive none the least.

Throughout the video, Knight shows his abilities to find holes and exploit them with his speed. He has the ability to change direction rather quickly while also being able to protect the ball from defenders.

While it’s hard to compare his style to just one Yellow Jackets quarterback, his running style is very comparable to Jackets quarterbacks of the past which could make him a great fit for the Jackets. Once he gets on campus, the coaching staff will need to see how his decision making develops as he learns a spread option offense. By the looks of his highlights, it appears that he is currently running an RPO based offense which does provide it’s similarities to the Jackets spread option.

Perhaps the hardest thing to judge with Knight is how good he really is since he does play against weaker talent. While he could potentially be a diamond in the rough, his abilities could also be magnified by the type of talent he plays around. That being said, the only way that the Jackets will find out is when Knight eventually arrives on campus some time next year.

Next: Former Jacket: DeAndre Smelter signs with Jaguars

Overall:

The Jackets have fund a potential diamond in the unheralded and rather unknown Demetrius Knight. The Locust Grove native has a great foundation for the Jackets to work with as both a passer and ball carrier and with a year or two of development with the coaching staff could turn into a quality backup or even starting quarterback for the Jackets.