CINCINNATI — There’s a reason linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. was in tears when he got the call from the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday night.
Back when Knight was playing college football for the Charlotte 49ers, he worked as a food delivery worker to provide extra money for his wife and daughter.
Those days are behind him.
Knight, now a father of two, was drafted by Cincinnati in the second round. He reflected on that part of his journey when the pick was official.
“Part of that emotion from last night (was) where we won’t have to do that anymore,” Knight told local reporters in Cincinnati on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is only a couple months older than new teammate Ja’Marr Chase, who just finished his fourth season in the league, and enters the NFL with plenty of experience both on and off the field.
The linebacker played at three different schools and finished his six-year college career with the South Carolina Gamecocks, where he was named a team captain and co-MVP for their defense. When Knight received the phone call from Bengals coach Zac Taylor to let him know he was coming to Cincinnati, he was sitting next to his wife, Jensy and his two children, Kamila, 2, and Malachi, 10 months.
If you watch one “call” video… watch this one.
What a moment 🤙 pic.twitter.com/hb8fVti7yE
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) April 26, 2025
Kamila was born when Knight was playing at Charlotte. He recalled a time after a 14-0 loss to Navy in 2023, when he returned home to his third-story apartment and asked how much money was in a bank account. He quickly hopped in his Jeep Compass and worked for a few hours as a driver for DoorDash to get a few extra dollars.
“There’s no easy, quick ways to make money when you’re playing football, going to class and also trying to raise a baby,” Knight said on Saturday.
He spent four seasons with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and earned a degree in literature, media and communication, before spending the 2023 season at Charlotte. After he was a first-team all-conference player for the 49ers, he transferred to South Carolina.
Part of the reasoning behind the decision was the ability to earn more money via NIL at the SEC school.
“I told them in order for me to come to [South] Carolina, I just want something where we pay our bills, we’ve got something left where we can go get groceries if we need it and not have to go do DoorDash,” Knight said.
The native of Locust Grove, GA., will have his hands full for the foreseeable future. As a rookie, Knight could slot in as a starter alongside linebacker Logan Wilson. Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden said that having an older prospect wasn’t a detriment considering all the other things Knight brings to the Bengals.
“I feel like we got him at the right spot in his career, and I’m not concerned at all about the age,” Golden said. “What we have is a guy who’s got his priorities right, and he’s going to be ready to come in and fight for a job.”
That’s one thing Knight knows how to do. And when asked about how he would describe his game, the delivery driver-turned-draft pick used that history to put his answer into full perspective.
“I like to say that when I’m going out onto the field, I like to hunt,” Knight said. “Because if I don’t hunt, then my family doesn’t eat.”
