Demetrius Knight Jr.

Cincinnati's second-round draft pick in 2025, Knight played in all 17 games with 14 starts in his rookie campaign ... His 106 tackles ranked second on the team and second among all NFL rookies, trailing only Cleveland LB Carson Schwesinger (146) ... Also contributed three sacks, seven PDs and two INTs, with both picks coming inside the Bengals' red zone ... Spent first four college seasons (2019-22) at Georgia Tech, then played one year ('23) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before finishing career at the University of South Carolina in '24 ... In his lone season with the Gamecocks, he ranked second on the team with 82 tackles and tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference with three FFs ... Was a four-year starting QB at Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove, Ga., before transitioning to LB at Georgia Tech ... While playing at Charlotte, he and his wife, Jensy, both worked as DoorDash delivery drivers to help support their young daughter, Kamilla ... His cousin, DeAngelo Hall, played defensive back in the NFL for 14 seasons and was a three-time Pro Bowler ... He also is a distant cousin of R&B legends Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight.

Cincinnati's second-round draft pick in 2025, Knight played in all 17 games with 14 starts in his rookie campaign ... His 106 tackles ranked second on the team and second among all NFL rookies, trailing only Cleveland LB Carson Schwesinger (146) ... Also contributed three sacks, seven PDs and two INTs, with both picks coming inside the Bengals' red zone ... Spent first four college seasons (2019-22) at Georgia Tech, then played one year ('23) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before finishing career at the University of South Carolina in '24 ... In his lone season with the Gamecocks, he ranked second on the team with 82 tackles and tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference with three FFs ... Was a four-year starting QB at Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove, Ga., before transitioning to LB at Georgia Tech ... While playing at Charlotte, he and his wife, Jensy, both worked as DoorDash delivery drivers to help support their young daughter, Kamilla ... His cousin, DeAngelo Hall, played defensive back in the NFL for 14 seasons and was a three-time Pro Bowler ... He also is a distant cousin of R&B legends Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight.

Career transactions: Selected by Cincinnati in second round of NFL Draft (49th overall) on 4-25-25 ... Signed with Bengals on 7-19-25.

Pro career:

2025—Played in all 17 games with 14 starts as a rookie ... Totaled 106 tackles (58 solos), with four TFLs and three sacks ... Added seven PDs, two INTs and one FF ... Tackle total ranked second on team and second among all NFL rookies ... Had 10 tackles (eight solos) and a PD in career debut on Sept. 7 at Cleveland ... Recorded first career INT on Sept. 29 at Denver, picking off QB Bo Nix in Bengals' end zone on fourth-and-goal late in second quarter; Also logged 10 tackles against Broncos ... Posted season-high 12 tackles and a PD on Oct. 26 vs. N.Y. Jets ... Had second INT on Nov. 27 at Baltimore, picking off tipped pass thrown by QB Lamar Jackson in the red zone and returning it 39 yards to set up Bengals FG drive in fourth quarter ... Notched first two career sacks on Dec. 14 vs. Baltimore, taking down Jackson for losses of nine yards and five yards; Both sacks came on third down to force Ravens punts ... Had three tackles and a sack in season finale on Jan. 4 vs. Cleveland; Sacked QB Shedeur Sanders on third down in red zone to force Browns FG attempt in third quarter.

College: Spent final season (2024) at South Carolina, following one year ('23) at Charlotte and four ('19-22) at Georgia Tech ... Played in 61 total games, recording 229 tackles with 16.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks ... In lone season at South Carolina, played in all 13 contests with 10 starts, was voted a team captain and ranked second on team with 82 tackles ... Sealed South Carolina's 17-14 win at Clemson on Nov. 30, 2024, with INT with 12 seconds remaining ... Named first-team All-American Athletic Conference in 2023 season at Charlotte, when his 96 tackles ranked second in the conference and fifth in a season in program history.

High school/personal: Hometown is Locust Grove, Ga. ... Attended Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove, where he played QB, RB and WR ... Earned two first-team all-region and two first-team all-area honors as a QB ... Eclipsed 1000 yards in both passing and rushing as a senior in 2018 ... Set school record with 99-yard TD run ... Became first Division I student-athlete to come out of Strong Rock Christian ... Also lettered four years in basketball, once causing 30-minute delay in high school game after breaking rim on a slam dunk. ... Graduated from Georgia Tech in December 2022 with bachelor's degree in literature, media and communication ... He and his wife, Jensy, have two children — Kamilla (daughter) and Malachi (son) ... While playing at Charlotte, he and Jensy both worked as DoorDash delivery drivers to help support Kamilla ... His cousin, DeAngelo Hall, played 14 NFL seasons as a defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins, and was a three-time Pro Bowler ... Knight Jr. also is a distant cousin of R&B legends Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight.

Last Updated July 2026