Ohio State football player profiles: Demetrius Knox

It was important for Urban Meyer and his coaching staff to land a top-notch offensive line class last year and they definitely achieved that goal. In July of 2013, they landed one of their top overall targets, in the form of Fort Worth (TX) All Saints Episcopal offensive guard Demetrius Knox, one of the top players at the position in the class as a whole.

Take a trip down memory lane and find out what kind of early impact he could have for the Buckeyes, as we bring you "Bucks to the Future", the Demetrius Knox story.

Vitals

Height: 6'4

Weight: 295 pounds

247Sports Composite: Number five offensive guard, 15th ranked player in the state of Texas, and 97th overall prospect in the 2014 recruiting class.

High School: All Saints Episcopal, Fort Worth, Texas

Origin Story

Knox's recruitment got off the ground following a very strong showing in his sophomore campaign on the football field, where he emerged as one of the top offensive linemen in his class.

It didn't take very long for him to start landing big time scholarship offers as his first scholarship offers from the likes of Nebraska, Texas Tech, UCLA, Ohio State, Baylor, Michigan, Alabama, and Oklahoma State.

The offer he landed from Ohio State was big for him for a couple of reasons, the obvious one being he was happy to have the opportunity to play college football for such a big school. However, the second reason for the offer being big might be the most important.... Knox had spent a good chunk of his life growing up in Springfield, Ohio, meaning he was relatively familiar with the state. In any event, right when he received the offer from the Scarlet and Gray, it became apparent that the Buckeyes would play a major role in his recruitment.

When summer hit, Knox set out to earn an offer from the in state Texas Longhorns, which was an offer he really wanted to receive. He camped in Austin at the beginning of June, but didn't earn an offer at the camp, though he was very close to receiving the scholarship offer he coveted.

Just about a month later Knox got some big news. Him and teammate Daniel Gresham received scholarship offers from the University of Texas. Gresham committed to the Longhorns just days later, but Knox decided to hold off on a commitment, thought he did name Texas his leader.

At the beginning of the 2012 football season, Knox made the short trip to the Jerry Dome in order to watch Alabama take on Michigan. The Crimson Tide ended up routing the Wolverines. Then the very next weekend, he made the trip to Austin where he saw Texas take on New Mexico.

During football season he added offers from the likes of Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Notre Dame, but it appeared to be pretty clear that the Longhorns had a sizable lead in his recruitment. On November 26th, 2012, he confirmed those beliefs by committing to play his college football at Texas.

All was well with his commitment to Texas for a couple of months, but in the winter of 2012 he made a handful of college visits to rival schools, the first of which was to check out Oklahoma. After that he returned to Austin (where he was still committed) in order to see Texas again, and then made his long awaited trip to Ohio State in order to see what the Urban Meyer's football program could do for him at the college level.

Things were pretty silent for about a month, but the silence was broken on April 22nd, 2013 when he de-committed from Texas. When he made the move I immediately thought the Buckeyes were the new favorite to land his commitment. He also picked up a bunch of new offers, including the likes of Florida State, LSU, Miami, Oregon, Missouri, and Auburn.

In June, some thought his recruitment was moving towards the UCLA Bruins as he named them his leader at the start of the summer. However, just about a month later, things changed drastically as he committed to play his college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where many thought he would end up, though some were surprised at the timing of his commitment to the Buckeyes.

Knox made his official visit to Columbus near the end of October, where he watched the Buckeyes demolish Penn State under the lights at Ohio Stadium. He then finished out a strong senior season, where he anchored his high school's offensive line.

Some Buckeye supporters started to worry close to signing day as the standout offensive linemen considered taking official visits to UCLA (who was once the leader in his recruitment) and Texas (where he was un-committed). However, just a couple of days after this news broke, Urban Meyer and offensive line coach Ed Warinner made the trip to Fort Worth for an in home visit with Knox and those close to him. offensive coordinator and area recruiter Tom Herman also dropped by Fort Worth for an in home visit.

Following the in home visit, Knox backed off his plans to take visits to other schools and decided he would definitely be playing his college football for the Buckeyes.

People's fears were officially put to rest on February 5th, 2014 when Knox signed and faxed his national letter of intent to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and officially became a member of the Ohio State football team.

2014 prospectus

There aren't too many prospects who are locks to succeed at the college level, but I think Knox is one of the select few who we can safely say will be a solid contributor at some point in his college career.

Will be be a star? I don't know, but I will say I would be absolutely shocked if he wasn't a major contributor to the Ohio State offensive line at some point in his career in the Scarlet and Gray. There aren't very many "safe" recruits, but Knox is a pretty good bet to succeed. I think he's the safest player the Buckeyes took in their 2014 class.

I am of the opinion that Jamarco Jones has the highest upside of the five offensive linemen Urban Meyer and his staff brought into this class, but if I had to bet on one to be a success (at some level) I would bet on Knox, who is an excellent athlete, has good run/pass blocking skills, and has the size necessary to succeed at offensive guard at the college level.

As far as impact on the 2014 football team, I think Knox has a legitimate shot at making the two deep as long as his puts on a good showing in fall camp. I don't see him starting from day one, but if one freshmen on the offensive side of the football were to emerge as a starter at some point during the season, my prediction would be Knox.

Buckeye fans have a lot to be excited about with Knox and it will be exciting to watch him develop over the course of his career with the Buckeyes.

For more on Knox, here's what Land-Grant Holy Land football analyst Christopher Jason had to say about the standout offensive linemen.

Knox played left tackle in high school, but projects as a guard on the next level. He is a nasty blocker who has a tendency to pancake 1-2 defenders almost every play. His frame is college-ready but could benefit from a redshirt season to develop his technique. Knox will eventually be a starter at guard, but it's just tough to make the jump from high school to college football on the offensive line.

Obligatory Highlights

Did you know...

- Knox's teammates Daniel Gresham is set to play his college football at SMU.

- He lived in Springfield, Ohio for a portion of his life.

- Participated in the Army All-American Bowl

- Two time participant in the Rivals 100 challenge

- Participated in Nike's "The Opening"

- Named a second team All-American by USA TODAY