12/20/2023 football Edit

4-star DB commit Ricky Knight III makes his pledge official, signs with FSU

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

Another member of Florida State’s loaded 2024 defensive back recruiting class has made his commitment official.

Four-star cornerback Ricky Knight III out of West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman High officially signed with the Seminoles on Wednesday, five months after announcing his commitment.

The South Florida prospect announced he was committing to FSU over Miami and Illinois on July 1, making him one of the first recruits to commit to FSU during a hectic July that took the Seminoles from just inside the top 30 nationally in the recruiting rankings into the top five.

His announcement came just weeks after he took an official visit to FSU in mid-June. That OV was Knight’s third trip to FSU of the calendar year and he made four more trips after committing, once for an FSU recruiting camp and then three times for home games during the season.

Transferring to Cardinal Newman ahead of his senior season, Knight had two interceptions, two pass breakups and allowed no touchdowns in his final high-school season. He also recorded a single catch on offense for a 70-yard touchdown.

Knight is one of five defensive back commits in the Seminoles’ 2024 class entering the early signing period. All five are blue-chip recruits and Knight ranks as the No. 165 overall recruit, No. 21 cornerback and No. 25 prospect from Florida in the 2024 class according to Rivals.

Osceola Recruiting Analyst Charles Fishbein on Knight: Knight is a player we first saw at a 7 on 7 tryout this spring. He stood out amongst some very good players. He is someone that is going to challenge you. Knight is another player who is not afraid to come up and hit you. He has good coverage skills. We like that he can also play corner or move over into the slot and cover another team's fastest receivers. We feel Knight is a much-underrated prospect.

Osceola Recruiting Analyst Pat Burnham on Knight: "Knight has excellent speed and closes on the ball very quickly. He is comfortable playing off coverage or tight-man or press-man coverages. Knight is physical and is not afraid to give run support although he does need to a better job of not leaving his feet when trying to make a tackle. He also has the ability to flip his hips and turn and run with wide receivers in press man. You don't see anyone run by him. He also shows a good understanding of leverage and where his help is coming from when pursuing the ball."