Demetrius Knox recruit updates: 2014 offensive guard

An Ohio native and Ohio State Buckeyes pledge since late June 2013, Knox had been committed to Texas early in the recruiting cycle before decommitting in April 2013 and then announcing his intentions to head home for college.

The Longhorns, under a new coaching staff, are now in the picture again after stopping by All Saints last week to visit Knox. He had originally decommitted from Texas because of the no-visit policy for recruits that former head coach Mack Brown instituted after suffering five decommitments during the 2013 recruiting cycle. When Knox pledged to the Longhorns, he cited the networking impact it would make on his future employability, because he wants to work in Texas after his football playing days are over, a factor that could once again play a role in his future.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman also visited Knox five days ago to help reaffirm the commitment of the 6’4, 300-pounder, but those efforts were not enough to withstand the home visit from UCLA, a school that Knox had named his leader just a week before committing to the Buckeyes.

The consensus four-star prospect is a US Army All-American and The Opening alum ranked as the No. 5 offensive guard nationally, the No. 15 player in the state, and the No. 97 prospect nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings. Knox also holds offers from Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Washington.

Once upon a time, Fort Worth (Texas) All Saints teammates and friends Demetrius Knox and Daniel Gresham planned on attending the same college. It didn’t work out that way, but now both are headed home for college after Knox committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday.

A Kentucky native, Gresham is headed back to Kentucky to play for Louisville, while the 6’4, 290-pound Knox will play offensive guard for his home-state Buckeyes. Throughout the recruiting process, when asked about Ohio State, Knox would respond, “I’ll always be a Buckeye,” which will now be the case in more than just his heart.

BEAVERTON, Oregon -- Fort Worth (Texas) All Saints offensive guard Demetrius Knox has been working on making the transition from playing offensive tackle in high school to competing inside at guard at the top events. At the Dallas NFTC, he was still in the learning process, but he looked much stronger holding his ground against the talented prospects at The Opening during the first session of one-on-one drills on Tuesday, remarkable since Knox has also worked hard to remain one of the most lean offensive guards at the event.

More than Knox’s performance, however, fans want to know where the consensus four-star prospect is headed and the 6’4, 290-pounder was willing to share his leader with SB Nation Recruiting after the Lineman Challenge. Knox also discussed the other schools standing out for him, when the Texas fanbase first disappointed him, and what he’s learned throughout a recruiting process that has been trying at times.

News of the decision first surfaced early Monday morning in a report from Rick Kimbrel of BruinBru.com ($) and was confirmed several hours later by 247Sports and then other outlets.

The 6’4, 300-pound Knox made the decision despite telling the Dallas Morning News just days ago that he was “100% committed” to Texas, going on to repeat a common assertion from him that his post-football future in the state of Texas had helped play a role in his pledge to the Longhorns:

From Fort Worth (Texas) All Saints, offensive lineman Knox and running back/fullback Gresham tripped to Columbus last weekend to visit Ohio State.

Knox is a native of Ohio and grew up a Buckeyes fan, revealing less than two weeks ago that he planned on visiting Columbus ($) to see his father, telling Hookem.com that he had told the Ohio State coaches that he’s “not going there.” He also said that he as “an understanding” with the Texas coaches about his visit.