Redbird Football Adds Iowa Transfer McKnight To Roster

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State football head coach Brock Spack added another defensive piece to his team's puzzle Tuesday, as former Iowa Hawkeye defensive end Romeo McKnight officially signed his financial aid agreement to join the Redbird football program.

A 6-foot-5, 260 pound defensive end out of Crystal Lake, Illinois, McKnight will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Redbirds and can to play immediately in 2018 due to NCAA transfer rules.

"Romeo is a perfect example of what we look for in a transfer and is the type of player that has been successful here in the past," Spack said. "We saw him at one of our camps and offered him a scholarship, but he blew up during the recruiting process and decided to go to a Big Ten program. I know a lot about the type of program Coach Ferentz runs and know what type of player we are getting, so it makes sense for us to add him and coming from Iowa should ease his transition into our program. He's long, athletic, runs well and has some twitch. He brings all that to table and gives us some needed depth and competition at the end position."

McKnight did not see game action in 2017 for the Hawkeyes due to a midseason injury that forced him out for the remainder of the year. He redshirted in his first season at Iowa in 2016 as a true freshman.

During his prep career at Crystal Lake Central High School, McKnight played both defensive end and running back and also competed in wrestling, winning the Illinois Class 2A state championship at 220 pounds as a junior and earning All-America honors three years in a row. On the gridiron, he saw his recruiting stock soar after a successful spring camp season and had nine Division I scholarship offers before signing with Iowa. He was ranked as a three-star prospect by all the major recruiting services and was the No. 9 overall prospect in the state after his senior season.

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