The Montana Grizzlies announced the addition of junior college transfer running back Marcus Knight Thursday afternoon, just three days after offering the sophomore from California.
According to Knight, it didn’t take him long to decide that Montana was the place for him.
“It all happened so fast,” Knight said. “I pretty much got an offer and committed that same day.”
Knight will add depth to a Montana running back unit that has thinned out in the offseason thanks to the departures of Jeremy Calhoun (left team), Alijah Lee (graduation) and Rey Green (transfer).
Adam Eastwood is the only returning Griz tailback who had even double-digit carries in 2018, meaning there’s an opportunity for Knight to carve out a role for himself.
He had 912 yards and eight touchdowns on 130 carries for Citrus College in 2018, averaging seven yards per carry.
“I’m pretty smooth, I’m fast, I can run over people, I can catch,” Knight said. “Talking to [Timm] Rosenbach, the offensive coordinator, it definitely seemed like they involve the running back in the pass game. They said, if they have a guy who can do it, they’ll give him the ball, and I really like that.”
KNIGHT FILM (CLICK)
After two seasons of high school football in Washington, Knight’s family moved to California because of his dad’s job before the running back’s junior year.
Knight started right away for St. Margaret’s High School in San Juan Capistrano, but didn’t receive much attention from colleges because he played at a small school and developed late.
With mostly Division-II offers after high school, he chose instead to go to Citrus in Glendora, California. He won the starting running back job right away and finished the season as a first-team all-conference selection.
“I chose [Citrus] because I wanted to go D-I, they were giving me the best opportunity to play right away,” Knight said. “I knew coming in that I was going to get a shot to play … I just went in there and took advantage of my reps and ended up being the top running back on the team.”
Knight’s star season for Citrus drew interest from several Pac-12 schools, but Montana was the first to offer him and he accepted right away.
“In junior college, everyone pretty much wants to get out as soon as possible, and offers are pretty scarce,” said Knight, who carries a 4.0 grade-point average and is academically eligible right away. “Nothing’s guaranteed in JUCO. [Teams] may have a promise to you and they can change it at the last second, so when you get one, you have to take that into consideration.”
Montana was already on Knight’s top-10 list of schools he’d consider, which made things easier.
“Marcus is the complete package. He’s a guy that was a little bit of a late bloomer out of high school, and he’s really evolved over the past year. He’s a quality individual, an outstanding student, and we think he fits with our team,” UM head coach Bobby Hauck in a UM press release.
He visited Montana for the first time Wednesday, when he arrived to officially enroll in classes before the start of the spring semester Thursday.
“That was weird, but I think it was worth it, for sure,” Knight said. “I like it. I’ve always wanted to live in Montana, kind of, because I like the quiet.”
Knight said that he’s taking business classes this semester but hasn’t declared a major.
He becomes the second junior college transfer in Montana’s Class of 2019, after offensive lineman Kordell Pillans from Mesa CC in Arizona.
