#17

Demetrius Knight II

Former linebacker at South Carolina. 2024: 82 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.

LB · South Carolina · Sr. · #17

6′2″ · 245 lb · Locust Grove, GA

CFB Index 70 · #120 of 571 LBsHigh confidenceCincinnati — drafted 2025, Rd 2, Pick 17, #49 overall

The story

Former linebacker at South Carolina. 2024: 82 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks.

Drafted round 2 by the Cincinnati in 2025.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Six seasons at South Carolina, 219 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2023) — drafted at #49 overall by Cincinnati.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

202311 games

All-AACfirst

2025

Drafted by Cincinnatiround 2, pick 49

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

3 teams

2019–2024

NFL

NFL Draft

R2 · #49

Cincinnati · 2025

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

3 honors · 1 category

🥈

ALL-AAC · 1ST TEAM

All-AAC 1st team (2023)

Coaching lineage · 2019–2024

2 coaches

2019–2020

Will Muschamp

South Carolina

2021–2024

Shane Beamer

South Carolina

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Will Muschamp → Shane Beamer. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

CincinnatiEntering 2nd NFL season

#49Rd 2 · Pick 17

CincinnatiEntering 2nd NFL season

View college career stats ↓

2024 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2019Georgia Tech3-9HC: Geoff Collins · Run-heavy, slow tempo

2020Georgia Tech3-7HC: Geoff Collins · Run-leaning

2021Georgia Tech3-9HC: Geoff Collins · Run-leaning

2022Georgia Tech5-7HC: Brent Key · Balanced

2023Charlotte3-9HC: Biff Poggi · Run-leaning

2024South Carolina9-4HC: Shane Beamer · Run-heavy

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

70Quality starter #120 of 571?

High confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: solo tackles (99th percentile). Strength: tackles (95th percentile). Concern: qb hurries (23rd percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Solo tackles#28 / 2892 · 99th pct

Tackles#129 / 2892 · 95th pct

Tackles for loss#218 / 2892 · 92nd pct

8.0

Sacks#502 / 2892 · 79th pct

2.0

Passes defended#1155 / 2892 · 49th pct

Interceptions#314 / 862 · 32nd pct

QB hurries#1536 / 2892 · 23rd pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2024 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	5.7	0.4	0.0	0.0
Road6g	7.0	0.8	0.3	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	4.6	0.6	0.1	0.0
Weeks 8+6g	8.3	0.6	0.2	0.2

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Shane Beamer

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2024

Starter

Tackle volume for the position at a full-time starter's level.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

70 · #120 of 571 LBs

Career stats

Season	Team
2024	South Carolina	82	57	8.0	2.0	1	1	--
2023	Charlotte	89	42	5.5	1.5	4	3	--
2022	Georgia Tech	9	5	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
2021	Georgia Tech	6	4	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
2020	Georgia Tech	15	9	1.0	0.0	--	--	--
2019	Georgia Tech	18	10	2.0	1.0	2	--	--
Career		219	127	16.5	4.5	7	4	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 10 · 2024

W 44–20

vs Texas A&M

11 TOT · 10 SOLO · 0 TFL

Dominant 24-point win at home against Texas A&M.

With L. Sellers — 244 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 86.5 · 106 rush yds (15 car) · 1 TD · R. Sanders — 144 rush yds (20 car) · 2 TD

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2024 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 23-19vs Old Dominion	5	5	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	W 31-6@ Kentucky	3	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	L 33-36vs LSU	4	4	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	W 50-7vs Akron	5	3	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 3-27vs Ole Miss	4	3	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	L 25-27@ Alabama	4	2	2.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 8	W 35-9@ Oklahoma	11	7	2.0	1.0	—	0	Season-high 11 tackles
Wk 10	W 44-20vs Texas A&M	11	10	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 28-7@ Vanderbilt	7	3	0.0	0.0	—	1
Wk 12	W 34-30vs Missouri	9	8	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 56-12vs Wofford	2	1	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 14	W 17-14@ Clemson	10	8	0.0	0.0	1	0
Bowl	L 17-21@ Illinois	7	2	1.0	0.0	—	0
Total		82	57	8.0	2.0	1	1

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology