Every school in the country wants this dude. #GoBlue
2025 recruits have been on the clock for college programs for a long while now, having started getting attention around this time last year. But Chattanooga (Tn.) Baylor School three-star running back Shekai Mills-Knight was something of a late bloomer.
It was late 2023 when some Power Four schools started calling. First Ole Miss, then schools like Tennessee and South Carolina. Before long, the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world were extending him offers to come play for them. Now he has 35 reported offers according to 247Sports and among them are the top names in college football.
So what is it like to go from not really getting much college attention in his junior year to being a hot commodity before even reaching his senior year?
“It’s been a lot. But like, I’m trying my best to enjoy the process and not let it overwhelm me,” Mills-Knight told WolverinesWire. “So I’m just taking it all in going everywhere I can, so I can stay humble.”
It makes sense why schools are interested in adding Mills-Knight to their rosters. An electric playmaker, he’s fast, elusive, all while being a big-bodied tailback.
“I’m 6-32, 220, I have great speed, I can outrun pretty much every linebacker,” Mills-Knight said. “I’m a great pass blocker. I can catch, I can actually run and catch and I can make people miss. So that’s why I feel like I’m being recognized as such a top prospect.”
Michigan was a late offer, having reached out just a few short weeks ago, extending an invitation to become a Wolverine on May 8. With official visit season coming up, despite a lot of other top schools desperately looking to make their pitch, Mills-Knight plans to be in Ann Arbor on June 4.
Education and culture-minded, he’s coming to campus with a lot of positive preconceived notions and is looking to learn whether or not his understanding of the University of Michigan matches his hopes for the school.
“I was super excited because they just won a championship, obviously,” Mills-Knight said. “And I know that their running back for the class of 2025 – by the time the class of 2025 gets up there, they’ll be gone. So it’ll be easy to fight for a spot.”
“And they’ve got a good business program, which I’m looking forward to majoring in so I want to get out there and see how the atmosphere is like and the culture, the environment. I love Coach Moore. I just want to get up there because it’s one of my top schools.”
In the aftermath of his offer, Mills-Knight has forged a strong relationship with the new Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore and now that they are getting to know each other, he’s starting to learn more about Tony Alford and the rest of the staff.
Wherever he chooses, he not only hopes to find a top-notch business school, but he intends to find a place where he can play as a true freshman, wasting no time getting on the field.
Mills-Knight also is planning to visit some of his other top schools — Miami (Fla.), Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Ole Miss — but before he does, he plans to release his top eight schools soon. Then, after he’s taken his visits, he will reassess in hopes that one of the eight stands out above the rest.
Should that happen, he’ll pledge to his school of choice. If not, it will be back to the drawing board.
“I’m gonna drop my top eight sometime next week. I’m gonna take the official visits. The goal is to have somewhere figured out, have my commitment down by the end of summer, before my senior year but if I don’t feel like I know where I’ve been everywhere I want to go, I’ll wait until the end of the season before I commit.”
Mills-Knight is listed by the On3 Industry Ranking as the No. 562 player in the country, regardless of position. He’s also seen as the 46th-best running back and 19th-rated player in the state of Tennessee. However, with his offer list, it appears as if the recruiting sites are missing something given all of the top schools in the country are working hard to lure him to their campuses.
