SLEEPER RIGHT TACKLE FOR THE 2019 DRAFT

Player School Jersey Year Entered Test
KNIGHT, Brandon Indiana University #62 2015
Height Weight Birth Date College Position Pro Position
6:05.1 307 04/01/97 ROT ROT/ROG
Time (10-Yard)
1.84 (hand)/1.89 (electronic)
Time (20-Yard)
2.85 (hand)/2.93 (electronic)
Time (40-Yard)
4.94 (hand)/5.03 (electronic)
Vertical Jump Broad Jump
31-inches 9'-01"
Arm Length Hand Width Wingspan
33 3/8-inches 10 1/4-inches 78 5/8-inches

2017 Best Games Georgia Southern, Charleston Southern, Maryland, Rutgers
2017 Worst Games Michigan, Wisconsin
2016 Best Games Wake Forest, Michigan State, Northwestern
2016 Worst Games Ohio State, Maryland (injury)
2015 Best Games Films for the 2015 season are not yet analyzed
2015 Worst Games Films for the 2015 season are not yet analyzed

Body Structure Knight has good thickness throughout his waist and hips, along with a solid midsection, big bubble, good upper body muscle development and high-cut, thick thighs and calves. He possesses good arm length and an average wingspan, along with good hand length that allow him to lock on and ride a defender away from the ball. He also shows solid muscle development throughout his shoulders and chest, looking the part of a classic mauler, as he is big, stout and not the type that has a “jiggly” midsection (came into the program as their fastest offensive lineman, at 265 pounds). He will likely add at least another twenty pounds to his frame to play at the next level, but the added bulk should not impact his impressive quickness.

General Report
Athletic Ability Knight has very good timed speed (5.03-seconds in the electronic 40-yard dash) and footwork, along with the ability to quickly recover when out on an island with an edge rusher, but might find a quicker route to an NFL starting job on the right side of the line as an offensive guard. When he gets out of position, he is quick to redirect, thanks to good hip snap. He shows good strength and good explosion out of his stance, as he consistently plays with a good base. He doesn’t bend too much at the waist and is a solid second level blocker, thanks to his foot speed and good agility in the open field - you'd just wish the new coaches would use him more on traps and pulls. He’s the type of athlete that “looks better” on tape, as he will surprise a lethargic defender with his quickness anchoring and establishing position. He flashes above average body control, balance and change of direction agility on the move, and those attributes could see a few teams regard him more as a guard, but you hope to see him utilized more on the move in 2018. For a player his size, he plays with a good base, is light on his feet, but needs to stay lower in his pads, as defenders at the next level could have success pushing him back into the pocket when he gets too high in his stance (see 2017 Michigan, Wisconsin games). With his strength, he can be explosive coming off the snap, but when he narrows his base and gets too upright, it negates his anchor. He has good lateral agility working in-line and runs with a normal stride getting out in front on drive blocks.

Football Sense Knight is a good student of the game, so much so, you can be confident that he can handle calling blocking assignments, if needed. He has the ability to quickly grasp the playbook and is a minimal “reps” type who shows very good awareness and ability to pick up stunts (see 2017 Penn State, Rutgers games). He had four penalties in 2017 (three false starts, one holding), but and is not considered an error-prone performer. He applies himself in “skull sessions” and easily takes the plays from the chalkboard to the playing field. The thing you see on film is his ability to instantly pick up schemes and counter react to them. He has quickly grasped the art of playing right offensive tackle and a lot of his success in the trenches comes from his ability to adjust to defensive movement with ease. Simply put, he has been a good student of the game, as he won’t repeat the same mistakes.


Athletic Report
Initial Quickness Knight has surprisingly good quickness off the snap and the ability to easily adjust, accelerate and finish. He gets a good jump off the ball and keeps his pads down (most of the time). He is quick to get into position and has the nimble feet to finish off his blocks. He shows field smarts and good explosion coming off the ball in the passing game, but can be shocked and rocked back on his heels vs. a strong bull rush when he gets too tall in his stance. He is much more effective in attempts to gain advantage when he stays low in his pads. He needs to work on his footwork, as at times, he will skip a step coming out of his stance, causing some balance issues on the move, but this only happens occasionally. With his explosion off the ball, he is quick to get position and take the advantage coming off the snap (see 2015 WMU, Oregon, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio State games). He is always aggressive when making contact and consistently sets his feet and provides a strong anchor in pass protection.

Lateral Movement Knight is light on his feet for a player his size and could see a quicker path to a starting job if he shifted inside to guard before shifting back to right tackle while his body continues to mature. He has fluid lateral movement skills and the feet to move on pulls and get up field. He is quick to redirect, but must learn how to play at a low pad level (loses leverage when he gets too tall). It is surprising that the staff has yet to capitalize on his movement skills to utilize him more on traps, pulls and stalking second level defenders.

Balance/Stays On Feet Knight shows a good anchor and balance in his base when he keeps his pads down. He can locate, reach and adjust on linebackers, but the staff needs to take advantage of his quickness to use him on traps and pulls, as he has the sustained speed to be effective attacking second level opponents. When he gets tall or fails to open his hips (see 2017 Michigan, Wisconsin games), he will get over-extended at times, but generally plays on his feet. Even when he lunges, he is rarely on the ground. He is developing good field savvy, as he does a nice job by using his size and strength to sustain blocks, moving his feet quickly in order to get out in front on pulls and traps. He sustains well working in the trenches and when he locks on to a defender, he is quick to run his feet, playing with a finishing attitude. The thing that you see on film is that even when he does not get great position, he does an outstanding job using his reach, strength and explosion to finish his blocks.

Explosion/Pop Knight is capable of jolting and shocking defenders with his hand punch (see 2017 Maryland, Illinois, Rutgers games). He has good natural strength and the ability to knock defenders off the ball coming out of his stance with arms extended. When he stays low in his pads, he creates movement and uses his body mass to lean into and get underneath the defender to sustain. There are times where he will grab defenders rather than catch in attempts to steer the pass rusher wide, but he has the ability to generate very good pop and explosion, as he averaged 7.90 knockdowns per game at right tackle for the season. That number increased to an average of 8.13 knockdowns per game in his eight starting appearances in 2017. He’s a classic mauler, one who loves to attack defenders while gaining good position on contact. He snaps his hips and flashes a very strong hand punch to get movement.

Run Blocking Knight plays with a good center and base, moving his feet well to stay off the ground and get out in front on traps and pulls, but the coaches had little regard for the ground game in 2017. After they averaged 159.23 yards per game on the ground during Knight's six starting assignments in 2016 that featured a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, they plummeted to 99th in the nation in rushing in 2017, averaging 130.08 yards per game (average increased to 144.1 yard-average in the eight games Knight started last season - see Georgia Southern, Rutgers games). He is a mauler who will use his size to take over blocks and when he stays low in his pads, he can lock on and grind out getting off the snap. He comes off the snap with his back flat, but needs to do a better job of rolling his hips (his hips are loose, but he just lacks technique). With his strength, he has developed good confidence that his hand punch can dominate and drive the defender off the line of scrimmage, but there are times where he will revert to grabbing in attempts to steer the defender. He may overextend some, but has the balance to recover when he gets too erect coming off the line of scrimmage. In 2017, he seemed to have had great success in finishing his blocks, thanks to his athletic agility to readjust and recover when he gets out of position. He showed marked improvement last season when it came to rolling his hips and driving his legs on a consistent basis. When he is down near the goal-line, more often than not, the tailback will trail Knight, knowing his blocker flashes a great line surge to get movement (see 2017 Penn State, Charleston Southern, Rutgers games).

Pass Blocking Knight is equally effective as a drive blocker and in pass protection. When he bends at the waist instead of his knees, he loses leverage vs. a physical pass rush, but he fights hard to maintain his anchor and prevent from being walked back into the pocket. He is not the type that takes false steps, as he has too good of a balance when trying to make the reach block. He uses his wingspan well (just not an ideal length for an NFL left tackle, thus evaluated as a right tackle or guard) to lock on and wash out the smaller edge rushers and when he plays with consistent footwork, he does a nice job of shuffling his feet to counter the spin moves. He can literally “shock and awe” an opponent with his hand punch (see 2017 Maryland, Illinois, Rutgers battles) and shows good agility to readjust to a defender’s inside moves. You can see on most game films that he has the good base and lower body flexibility, along with the reach to extend, separate and anchor.

Pulling/Trapping Because of his size and nimble feet, Knight has the ability to generate enough sustained quickness balance to get up to the second level and make contact. He can wheel and cut off defenders in the short area and takes good angles when stalking defenders past the line. The big issue last season was the staff's non-desire for the traps and pulls. Additionally, their quick-paced offense did not afford their players to get into a rhythm. On 182 offensive possessions in 2017, the Hoosiers had just four drive of five minutes or longer, the lowest figure by a Division I team in close to fifty years. It not only affected the offense's rhythm, but kept a tired defense on the field too long, thus the non-bowl season. Knight has that instinctive feel for taking good angles, along with the ability to sustain when in the open field. While aggressive, he still plays with enough patience needed to make adjustments on the move. Hopefully the coaches will try to grind the ball out more often in 2018, or it could be a repeat of last year for the team.

Adjust on Linebacker Downfield Knight has good chip-& -land ability, but the Indiana system did not see their linemen serve as downfield blockers too often. In 2016, when he got into the second level, he quickly gained position to screen and wall off (see 2016 Wake Forest, Northwestern games; 2017 Maryland, Rutgers contests). He gets into space smoothly when blocking on screens and takes proper angles to obliterate linebackers that dare get into his path. He also shows the agility to cut off and pick up his man while on the move. He maintains the low pad level needed to cut off blitzers on the corners and keeps his balance on the move to make adjustments when the second level defenders try to elude him.

Use of Hands/Punch
Knight can generate a very strong punch with either hand, and it is very rare to see him lunge and collide, rather than lock on and steer. He obviously punches with good force to shock and jolt, and he demonstrates the proper techniques of grabbing and getting underneath the defender. Once he uses his large mitts to latch on, he will win most of those battles. He can lock out with consistency and does a good job of getting his hands into the chest of the rushers, as his power allows him to consistently jolt with his initial punch (see 2017 Georgia Southern, Rutgers games). Even when he carries his hands a little too low, he shows enough power behind his strikes to consistently get his man off-balance and then, to the ground. He has become very efficient in using his hands to control and keep the defenders off his body since emerging as the right tackle during the last two years.