Five stars quarterback Deuce Knight of Lucedale (Miss.) George County signed with Auburn on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

The Knight Files

position: Quarterback

Size/Weight: 6-foot-4.5 / 208 pounds

Key feature: Knight has one of the biggest arms in the Class of 2025. He can throw the ball downfield without strain.

On3 industry ranking: (96.51) No. 24 overall, No. 5 QB, No. 2 in Mississippi

Commitment date: Oct 2, 2024

I chose Auburn: Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee

Time of enrollment: January

Remarkable: Knight attended almost every Auburn home game while still committed to Notre Dame. He committed quietly, without publicly changing his commitment status. After a rollercoaster ride, Knight eventually moved from the Irish to the Tigers. Interestingly, Knight is also a left-handed quarterback.

Quote worthy: “Coach (Hugh) Freeze believes we can both do something special on offense. We’re both boys from Mississippi. He says I should come to Alabama and take over college football.”

Tear down

****Breakdown written by Auburn Live Recruiting Analyst Cole Pinkston

RAW ATHLETICS: This was done considering Knight’s key trait. This is where everything Knight brings to the table at quarterback takes a big leap in terms of ceiling. He is a 4.5/40 runner, has excellent long-range speed and often escapes pressure in the pocket.

ARM TALENT: Arm talent comes with strength and the ability to make throws from different angles. Knight has one of the most intriguing arm talents in the class of 2025 at this point. He’s a left-handed hitter who can throw a ball over the middle or add touch to a deep ball. He can hit pretty much every shot on the field. We haven’t seen too many restrictions in this regard.

THROW UNDER PRESSURE: Knight often jumps in instead of trying to pull a Houdini. He will step back or just stand by and make his throw. He relies more on his arm talent than his legs, which is somewhat unusual for a high school quarterback. Usually it’s the other way around. For the most part, Knight seems to remain calm in these situations.

ACCURACY: If Knight gets some space, he doesn’t miss much. When under pressure, he still hits a high percentage of his shots. As for translation, I think this is a property that is somewhat unknown. He looks good but holds up. There is a question about ball contact and the trajectory of the intermediate throws.

RPO/READS: Knight is good at these plays, but they can look a bit messy at this point. Of course, his school doesn’t delve too much into the RPO world, but we’ve seen him in multiple read situations. He seems okay, but not elite.

OPERATION: Knight runs a clean operation. He protects the ball pretty well and makes sure everything runs on time and ahead of the chains. As far as we know, Knight doesn’t tend to abandon a play early. He likes to persevere and let things develop. He took a few sacks with him for this purpose, but seems to have sacrificed them to keep things clean.

PLAYABILITY: Knight currently makes most plays with his arm. He hasn’t yet realized how his athleticism will pay off on defense. He prefers to stay in the pocket and play from there. Still, he does it game after game in this style. As long as a piece is made, it doesn’t matter how it was made. Knight has so much to build on from a gameplay perspective.

Unknown feature: Expansion of the games. Knight has speed and athleticism, but knows his arm is always more dangerous. When he comes out of the pocket, he is good at finding a way to extend a play and give players a chance to get open. He doesn’t like to leave the bag, but is quite capable of it.