Recruit Snapshot: Deuce Knight
The Lipscomb Academy Mustangs (Nashville, TN) went undefeated in 2022, winning nationally broadcast games and a State Title along the way. Then in the offseason, the Mustangs saw Head Coach Trent Dilfer take the UAB job, saw their starting quarterback graduate and enroll at Cincinnati, and moved up to Division 2 Class 3A, the toughest classification in all of Tennessee football. Oh, and just to make things interesting, the Mustangs opened the season with National Powerhouse IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL). Not all the cha ge was bad though. The Mustangs landed an NFL Hall of Famer in Kevin Mawae as their new Head coach, are a strong contender to win state again, and added one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 class in Deuce Knight.
A New Era
Knight arrived in Nashville as another New face among many in Mawae’s new staff. He was forced to learn a new playbook, new teammates, new coaches, even a new campus in short order. For his new start at Lipscomb, Knight, who played previously at George County High School (Lucedale, MS) got to face the IMG Academy Ascenders, one of the most talent laden rosters in America. No small feat for the quarterback making the first start of his junior campaign.
Baptism by Fire
Knight showed a lot in a huge game against the best competition in the country. Some was good, some wasn’t, but Knigbt put together the kind of film that coaches love. There were things for him to be coached up on, to improve, but also plenty of good plays that should build Knight’s confidence and show what his ceiling can be. The big lefty has a live arm and the frame quarterback coaches dream about. Knight has the arm strength to be effective making throws in any offense in the country. His mechanics and accuracy need some fine tuning, tightening up, and to be more consistent, but he flashes the quick release and perfect placement enough to put any fears to rest. Knight is also an outstanding runner, with speed enough to run away from defenders at this and the next level as well as the size and strength to get through tackles. That to say, Knight has all the physical tools.
Plenty to Digest
Few of the areas Knight needs to improve are physical. It was evident at times that Knight was in a new offense that he had little experience in. That is not to say he was making bad throws or anything of the like. He was taking longer to read defenses, needing to think a beat or two longer to decide where the ball should go, occasionally missed a blitzer or hot read, and sometimes waited too long to make the decision to run or throw. That may sound like a lot of negativity, but these are all issues that are fixed with time and reps. Knight just needs more time to learn the offense and what is expected of him within it. Each game, each practice, the information will process more quickly, the decisions will come faster, and the comfort born of confidence will come in time.
What Is the Ceiling?
For Knight, the ceiling is about as high as you could ask for. All his current problems are things that time and coaching should fix. He has all the physical attributes as a quarterback to be successful in any offense at the next level.
- Strong arm that can make any throw.
- Flashes impressive accuracy and anticipation on his throws, but.needa consistency.
- Excellent runner and a threat at the next level with his legs.
- Ideal size and frame for an FBS quarterback.
- Great attitude. Upbeat with a magnetic personality that makes him fun to be around and uplifting in the locker room.
- Inexperienced with improvement needed in decision making.
- Should benefit enormously with more playing time.
Knight is a high risk, high reward prospect at this point in his development. Don’t be surprised if that evaluation has moved significantly by the end of the 2023 campaign. Good coaching and playing time should accelerate Knight’s growth. Still, at this point, Knight would likely be best served to prioritize a college staff with a strong history of coaching and developing quarterbacks in order to get the most out of his huge potential quickly.
