It was written like a movie script for Mustangs football defensive lineman Deionte Knight.
Just as he was about to walk into the team’s year-end banquet at the Hellenic Centre in London, Ont., on Saturday, he received a call informing him he was being invited to the NFL rookie camp of the Washington Commanders next week.
As the news made its way into the lobby, the entire Mustangs football family swarmed to congratulate him and celebrate this monumental moment.
“That was just so special. It’s funny because I had a dream that if I got the call, it would happen here, where I am with all my brothers who I couldn’t have done this without,” said Knight, a fourth-year arts and humanities student at King’s University College. “I am just so blessed for this opportunity and can’t wait to get down there and work my butt off to show them what I can do.”
The good news did not stop there for this Mustangs athlete. Later that day, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also extended an invitation to Knight to attend their evaluation camp. Now, he has a decision to make as to which direction he would go.
“Both teams offer an incredible opportunity for me to advance my football career. In the next couple of days, I will have to sit down with my team and decide what’s the best avenue for me to go and give me the best opportunity; but either way I’m very excited,” Knight said.
Knight was the recipient of the J.P. Metra Trophy as the Most Outstanding Lineman of the Year for the 2021 football season. He was instrumental in the Mustang football team’s 2021 Vanier Cup victory against the Saskatchewan Huskies last December.
Mustangs head coach Greg Marshall was overjoyed to see Knight’s hard work paying off.
“We’re just so thrilled for Deionte, he has come so far in the last few years and has been such a key to our success as a football program, especially this year, winning a Vanier Cup,” said Marshall. “For him to get this news and be able to celebrate with his teammates was an amazing moment to see.”
NFL rookie camps are set to begin in mid-May.
Deionte Knight taking the life-changing phone call at the team’s year-end banquet on Saturday (credit: Western Athletics)
The Mustangs football family congratulating Deionte Knight after being invited to the NFL rookie camp by both Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (credit: Western Athletics)
