Joey Knight was so determined to receive an offer from Army football that he told other schools recruiting him that he was not going to make a commitment until visiting West Point.
Fordham, Columbia, Dartmouth and Georgetown offered Knight a chance to play Division I-AA football. The Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.) defensive end wanted to compete at the Division I-A level and betted on himself during a July 29 visit.
Knight left West Point with an Army offer. He didn’t take much time to make his decision, committing to Black Knights four days later on Monday morning.
“Seeing the campus and facilities is really what did it for me,” Knight said.
The chance to serve in U.S. Army after graduation was also attractive to Knight. His grandfather, great grandfather and great uncle were all military.
“I have always wanted to be in the military since I was young,” Knight said. “So to play great football and attend the best military academy was a dream come true.”
Knight played his junior year for Wellesley (Mass.) this spring due to COVID-19. He had a pick six among his statistics in four games. Knight opted for a postgraduate year at Choate Rosemary this fall. Among the Connecticut prep school alumni is Army junior linebacker Daryan McDonald. The extra year increased Knight’s recruitment and eventually would lead to Army’s interest.
“Reclassifying definitely helped me,” Knight said. “I don’t think I could’ve (received the offer) if I didn’t. Our coach has a good relationship with Army and it was helpful.”
2022 Army football commits (39)
DE Amir Ali, 6-2, 235, Holy Cross HS, San Antonio, Texas: First offer – Army
OL Henry Appleton, 6-3, 275, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: Other offers – Air Force. Helped Denton Ryan to Texas 5A state title as junior.
RB Donovan Baker, 5-10, 190, Woodberry Forest (Va.) HS: Other offers – Navy.
OL Ned Brady, 6-4, 245, New Canaan (Conn.) HS: Other offers – Navy, Boston College, Rutgers, Syracuse, Buffalo
K Anderson Britton, 5-10, 155, Heritage HS, Ringgold, Ga.
OL CJ Brooks, 6-1, 277, Warner Robins (Ga.) HS: First offer – Army.
S Caden Brungard, 6-1, 190, Western Wayne HS, Lake Ariel, Pa.: Other offers – Air Force
RB David Clerk, 5-9, 160, Centennial HS, Burleson, Texas
DL Mason Davis, 6-2, 260, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: Other offers – Air Force, Hawaii, North Texas. Helped Denton Ryan to Texas state 5A championship
WR Michael Davis, 6-1, 205, Denton Ryan HS, Denton, Texas: First offer – Army. Caught touchdown pass in Denton Ryan’s Texas 5A championship win.
OL Sam Dec, 6-4, 250, Nease HS, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.: Other offers – Navy, Air Force, Marshall, Appalachian State, Florida International, Georgia Southern, UConn, Western Kentucky, Georgia State, Colorado State, Troy, UMass.
DE-TE David Dunston, 6-3, 230, William Penn HS, New Castle, Del.
DE Chase Fambro, 6-3, 240, Spalding HS, Griffin, Ga.: Other offers – Coastal Carolina, Hawaii
OL Paolo Gennarelli, 6-3, 280, St. Charles North (Ill.) HS: Other offers – Wyoming
QB Sylas Gomez, 6-2, 185, Central Catholic HS, San Antonio, Texas: First offer – Army.
DE Caden Harman, 6-3, 240, Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, Calif.
DL Kody Harris, 6-2, 295, Middletown (Del.) HS: Other offers – Navy, Air Force. Visited Army, Navy and Air Force.
QB Cale Hellums, 5-11, 185, Tomball (Texas) HS: First offer – Army. Rushed for 1,796 yards junior year.
OL Kendrick Kirby, 6-3, 270, Calhoun (Ga.) HS: Other offers – Air Force, Memphis, Arkansas State, Marshall.
DT Bridger Knee, 6-2, 250, Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tenn.: Other offers – Ball State, Utah State
DE Joey Knight, 6-3, 230, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, Conn.: Played 2021 spring season at Wellesley (Mass.) before transferring to Choate Rosemary Hall
OL Tyler Lee, 6-2, 285, Tomball (Texas) HS: Other offers – Air Force, Tulsa, Marshall, Louisiana-Lafayette, Texas State
DB Ryan Nolan, 5-10, 170, Gainesville (Fla.) HS: Other offers – Navy
OL Lane Parks, 6-5, 275, Yukon (Okla.) HS: Other offers – Air Force, New Mexico, Texas State. Ranked No. 29 in The Oklahoman’s Super 30 for 2022 season.
LB Steven Powers, 6-foot, 200, Franklin HS, El Paso, Texas: First offer – Army. Second offer – Navy.
S Jamir Reyes, 6-1, 180, Imhotep Charter, Philadelphia, Pa.
QB Glenn Rice, 5-11, 180, Lancaster (Texas) HS: Other offers – Air Force.
QB Larry Robinson, 6-foot, 175, Saline (Mich.) HS: Ranked the 81st best quarterback in 2022 class and top QB in Michigan by 247 Sports. Other offers – Navy, Central Michigan.
FB Hunter Roddy, 6-foot, 220, Chaparral HS, Murrieta, Calif.: Other offers – Navy
OL Ryan Scott, 6-3, 250, Blessed Trinity HS, Roswell, Ga.: First offer – Army
DT Brady Small, 6-3, 285, St. Augustine Prep, Richland, N.J.: Other offers – Navy, Kent State
TE Toby Thompson, 6-4, 240, Cherokee HS, Canton, Ga.: Other offers – Air Force
K David Vaughn, 5-11, 160, Coffee HS, Douglas, Ga.:
WR Neo Vossschulte, 6-4, 190, Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square, Pa.
WR Tyler Vroman, 6-3, 180, Lowell (Mich.) HS: First offer – Army
RB Dakoda Wagner, 6-1, 210, Flagler Palm Coast (Fla.) HS
RB Isaiah West, 6-1, 204, Georgetown Prep, North Bethesda, Md.: Other offers – Navy
CB Curtis Whiting, 5-11, 181, Hackensack (N.J.) HS
TE Cooper Wilkinson, 6-3, 235, New Smyrna Beach (Fla.) HS: Committed during visit on June 6.
LB Christian Yousefzadeh, 6-4, 225, Creekside HS, St. John’s, Fla.: Other offers – Georgia Tech
Commits by state: Texas (10), Georgia (7), Florida (4), Pennsylvania (3), California (2), Delaware (2), New Jersey (2), Michigan (2), Connecticut (1), Illinois (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (1), Oklahoma (1), Tennessee (1), Virginia (1)
Commits offered by Navy: 9
Commits offered by Air Force: 9
