Kassidy Hill

CHARLOTTE Water is always moving, always flowing. It both works with and dominates its surroundings and is adaptable where need be.

Demetrius Knight Jr. strives to mimic that on the football field.

"Just showing that you can move like water, I've been saying all day," Knight said after completing his pro day workouts at South Carolina. "So what a day to compete and show these guys that you're a competitor."

The "guys" on hand were coaches, general managers, and scouts from every NFL team, come to watch the Gamecocks draft eligible contingent up close. The linebacker Knight participated in the NFL combine as well, running a 4.58 40-yard dash at 6-2, 235 pounds. But water is best appreciated up close, and he wanted to use his pro day to work directly with coachessuch as Panthers linebacker coaches Pete Hansen and Mayur Chaudhari.

"Definitely took away some things that you can add to your game," Knight shared, "like always finishing, which is second nature, but being able to keep your feet as a linebacker, things don't always go right in a play, but get up, keep going."

It's the mindset akin to a mighty river, always finding a way forward, even if it's a trickle at a time. And it's a mantra Knight has adopted not just for a play that could go wrong, but for anything on or off the field.

"It's just been a continuous journey, you know, I've been spiritually but also physically never been content with myself, you know, always wanted to grow," preached Knight. "I always wanted to grow deeper spiritually so I can come out here and do what I want to do. So if I don't have a good day. I don't tell myself, 'Oh, I had a bad day today. I had a day to get better from. I did things today that I can learn from.' And then, you know, you get better days like today, we're going to stack on that.

"We're going to continue to stack this day, pro day, until we get drafted and then on this to the NFL."

Taking things a step at a time, committed to forging a path even if it's winding, has defined Knight's career. He spent four years at Georgia Tech, redshirting his final year with the Yellowjackets so he could transfer. The next year was at UNC-Charlotte, where he earned first-team All-American Athletic Conference honors after leading the team with 96 tackles and three interceptions.

In his final year of eligibility at South Carolina, Knight posted 82 tackles, including eight for loss, 2.0 sacks and one interception in the SEC as the Gamecocks went 9-4.

The six years in college gave Knight time to get married, have two daughters, study the game intensely, and prepare for the next step with a calm maturity that most of his draft class peers would love to have as they work through the draft process.

"It's cool to see different head coaches and be around linebacker coaches," Knight said of team visits, meetings and workouts. "Which shows you which teams are interested in you, having all these guys here (at pro day).

"They could be anywhere, you know, at different pro days. They can send somebody else to do it, but they're taking the time to come out here and pour into us so they can bring that back to their GMs, their head coaches, linebackers coaches, and be like, I think we should take this guy. Yeah, he dropped the ball in this rep, but look at his finish here. So that's what's going to carry you through."

Carry you through, just like the body of water that never stops moving.