2021 McArthur (FL) 3-star CB Kevin Knowles was one of five athletes to earn an invite to the Under Armour All-America Game in January after a strong performance at the UA Miami Camp last weekend.
“I came in here with the mentality to be great and get an invite, and that’s what I did,” Knowles said.
Knowles has been a known quantity in recruiting circles for nearly a year at this point, and holds offers from college football royalty including Alabama, Clemson, Penn State, FSU, and Florida among others. Despite all the recruiting attention that has been going on in Knowles’ world for months now, he says he isn’t really close to narrowing things down or establishing a group of favorites.
“I was thinking about just leaving everything open, and then from there, stick with the ones that I’ve built a relationship with and have been communicating with me,” Knowles said. “But mainly I want to leave my recruitment open.”
So just who has been communicating with Knowles lately? Aside from the local Miami Hurricanes, who offered in November, Knowles points to Clemson, UNC, and Nebraska as the main programs he’s been forging bonds with and wants to take visits to in the future.
“I’m trying to set up a visit with Clemson coming up,” Knowles said. “At Nebraska, I have a lot of relationships that I’ve built with the coaches - not just one, but many. I’m looking forward to being up there and having a great time.
“With UNC, coach (Jovan) Dewitt was at Nebraska before he went over there, me and him had built a relationship. After he went to UNC, he offered me, and we’ve been chopping it up since then. It’s just another opportunity for me to be great.”
The 5-10 170 pound prospect has also recently visited in-state FSU and Miami for their respective Junior Days this spring, and Knowles spoke about how his time at Coral Gables went in particular during the late January event.
“There was a lot of people out there,” Knowles said. “I thought we were going to take pictures, but we mainly talked about academics, nutrition, they took our height and weight, and I got to meet a lot of the coaches I haven’t met before.”
While Knowles got to meet more people around the Miami program that he hadn’t had contact with before, the event also afforded him the opportunity to further some of the connections he had already been building as well.
“I talk with mainly coach (DeMarcus) Van Dyke, we’re kind of close,” Knowles said. “I had met him before, but we really got close when I went to the Junior Day. I talk to him every day.”
Along with keeping in touch with cornerback coach Mike Rumph, Knowles also says he regularly talks with UM head coach Manny Diaz, something that he appreciates.
“I do feel like a priority, just being able to talk with a college head coach. I feel like he really wants me,” Knowles said. “[Diaz] just tells me that South Florida is where it’s at, there so many ballplayers. He says if you don’t want to come to work, then Miami’s not the place for you.”
Ultimately, Knowles is attracted to the brand of football that comes with being a Miami Hurricane.
“Just being in South Florida, the intensity they bring is great,” Knowles said of Miami. “They’re just like a family to me.”
Knowles has a tentative decision timeline for end of summer/beginning of his senior season, but admits that that could change at any time.
“Really, it will be after I get all my officials in,” Knowles said. “Academics are first, period - I’m going to have a good education. Then, I’m mainly looking for the best fit – family, an atmosphere I can build in, not only as an athlete, but as a man.”
At the Opening Miami Regional last February, Knowles recorded a 4.38 shuttle time and a 32.60 vertical leap, and he says he has only improved his game since then.
“My versatility, my IQ, my ability to just play ball - I feel I have a God-given talent,” Knowles said. “I run track right now. I’ve been working in the weight room to get my weight up, my speed up. Just been perfecting my craft, period.”
“I came in here with the mentality to be great and get an invite, and that’s what I did,” Knowles said.
Knowles has been a known quantity in recruiting circles for nearly a year at this point, and holds offers from college football royalty including Alabama, Clemson, Penn State, FSU, and Florida among others. Despite all the recruiting attention that has been going on in Knowles’ world for months now, he says he isn’t really close to narrowing things down or establishing a group of favorites.
“I was thinking about just leaving everything open, and then from there, stick with the ones that I’ve built a relationship with and have been communicating with me,” Knowles said. “But mainly I want to leave my recruitment open.”
So just who has been communicating with Knowles lately? Aside from the local Miami Hurricanes, who offered in November, Knowles points to Clemson, UNC, and Nebraska as the main programs he’s been forging bonds with and wants to take visits to in the future.
“I’m trying to set up a visit with Clemson coming up,” Knowles said. “At Nebraska, I have a lot of relationships that I’ve built with the coaches - not just one, but many. I’m looking forward to being up there and having a great time.
“With UNC, coach (Jovan) Dewitt was at Nebraska before he went over there, me and him had built a relationship. After he went to UNC, he offered me, and we’ve been chopping it up since then. It’s just another opportunity for me to be great.”
The 5-10 170 pound prospect has also recently visited in-state FSU and Miami for their respective Junior Days this spring, and Knowles spoke about how his time at Coral Gables went in particular during the late January event.
“There was a lot of people out there,” Knowles said. “I thought we were going to take pictures, but we mainly talked about academics, nutrition, they took our height and weight, and I got to meet a lot of the coaches I haven’t met before.”
While Knowles got to meet more people around the Miami program that he hadn’t had contact with before, the event also afforded him the opportunity to further some of the connections he had already been building as well.
“I talk with mainly coach (DeMarcus) Van Dyke, we’re kind of close,” Knowles said. “I had met him before, but we really got close when I went to the Junior Day. I talk to him every day.”
Along with keeping in touch with cornerback coach Mike Rumph, Knowles also says he regularly talks with UM head coach Manny Diaz, something that he appreciates.
“I do feel like a priority, just being able to talk with a college head coach. I feel like he really wants me,” Knowles said. “[Diaz] just tells me that South Florida is where it’s at, there so many ballplayers. He says if you don’t want to come to work, then Miami’s not the place for you.”
Ultimately, Knowles is attracted to the brand of football that comes with being a Miami Hurricane.
“Just being in South Florida, the intensity they bring is great,” Knowles said of Miami. “They’re just like a family to me.”
Knowles has a tentative decision timeline for end of summer/beginning of his senior season, but admits that that could change at any time.
“Really, it will be after I get all my officials in,” Knowles said. “Academics are first, period - I’m going to have a good education. Then, I’m mainly looking for the best fit – family, an atmosphere I can build in, not only as an athlete, but as a man.”
At the Opening Miami Regional last February, Knowles recorded a 4.38 shuttle time and a 32.60 vertical leap, and he says he has only improved his game since then.
“My versatility, my IQ, my ability to just play ball - I feel I have a God-given talent,” Knowles said. “I run track right now. I’ve been working in the weight room to get my weight up, my speed up. Just been perfecting my craft, period.”
