TE plans Junior Day visit to Ole Miss

Collinsville (West Lauderdale), Miss. prospect Daniel Knox doesn't have but one offer from the three major in-state schools in Mississippi, but it's likely that a battle among several SEC schools will occur before signing day next February.

Knox, a 6-foot-5, 248 pounds prospect, is projected as a tight end by some schools and as an offensive lineman by others and is getting significant attention from college recruiters.

"Right now, (Mississippi) State is the only one that has offered, but Ole Miss and Southern Miss are making contact and I think both are close to offering. I'm also getting some interest from Alabama and Auburn."

Ole Miss' most recent contact was late last week.

"Coach (Derrick) Nix called my coach and I called Coach Nix back on Friday," Knox said. "He told me that they're really interested and they want me to come up on their next junior day (March 27). I'm planning on going up for that."

It won't be Knox's first visit to Ole Miss. He attended the LSU game last fall and also made some other stops on unofficial visits last fall.

"I went to almost every one of State's home games," he said. "I went to the one game at Ole Miss and then went to Alabama to one game."

Knox stopped short of naming a leader, but likes the fact that Mississippi State offered early and is recruiting him hard and that Ole Miss and Alabama are showing interest.

"I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to recruiting," Knox said. "State was the first to offer and I like State. But I'm not going to seal the deal anytime soon. I want to see what everyone else has to offer."

That will include not only Ole Miss, but potentially several other SEC schools.

"I grew up an Alabama fan," he said. "But I just like the SEC. There's no better place to play than the SEC. I would just be an honor to get to play for any SEC team."

While the issue of where Knox will end up playing remains to be seen, another unresolved issue is where exactly he'll play at the next level.

"Some are looking at me as an offensive tackle and others as a tight end," he said. "State and Southern are looking at me as an offensive tackle. Ole Miss is looking at me as a tight end. State and Southern run spread offenses and Ole Miss runs the more traditional offense, so I think they want me as a blocking tight end."

Knox said he spent most of his time at West Lauderdale playing tight end, but also played some at defensive end and at linebacker.

"We run a Wing-T offense and we're running the football most of the time, so blocking is kind of my thing," he said.

However, he did manage to catch 15 passes on a team that finished 9-3 on the season and won its division title before being eliminated in the playoffs.

Knox said where he's projected to play - tight end or offensive line - will not impact his decision as to where he'll attend college.

"I just want to go where I can play," he said. "That, and help the team. So, whether it's offensive line or tight end, I don't care as long as I get on the field.'

Knox as an impressive 3.5 GPA and has already scored a 20 on his ACT.