Hunter Knighton talks Navy Offer

Hunter Knighton was one of the recruits in attendance for Navy's annual Blue-Gold game in April. The 6-foot-6, 267-pound lineman from The Garden State's Hun School of Princeton came away impressed with what he saw in Annapolis and with a Navy offer on the table.

"I went down for the [Navy] spring game with my head coach, Dave Dudeck, and my teammate, Ben Dudeck, the coach's son," said Hunter Knighton. "Coach (Mike) Judge took us on a tour of the school. Afterward, we sat down together and he let me know I had an offer. He said he could tell I was a tough kid from my tape. He also like my versatility and that I can play on either side of the line.

"The school had a great feel. I liked Annapolis too. It's definitely a town I can see myself living in. I think the Academy fits my personality, and I'd love serving my country after college."

There is competition for Knighton including Army which offered two weeks ago. He also has two Big Ten offers, from Northwestern and Purdue, and three Big East offers from Rutgers, Connecticut, and South Florida.

Last season, Knighton played at The Hill School, a co-ed boarding school in Pottstown, Pa., but has since transferred to The Hun School, Hill's big rival.

"It's been great," Knighton said of the move. "My recruiting has really taken off since the transfer. Right now I'm looking to find my niche in the team and step up and be a team leader. I'm trying to get bigger, stronger, and faster and hopefully dominate next season.

"I'm not sure of my stats from last year, but I know I had nine pass deflections. I made All-League, All-Area, and All-State for prep schools."

Knighton can play both defensive line positions and both offensive line positions which makes him all the more desirable for prospective colleges. At Hun, he never gets off the field playing both sides of the line the entire game.

"In spread offenses I'm being looked at more at tackle and with pro-style offenses I'm being looked at more at guard," explained Knighton. "It doesn't really matter to me what position I'm recruited at. I just want to go to a school with strong academics.

"Hun is a challenging academic school, and I'd like to continue to receive a good education. With football, I want to come in and be a part of a winning team."

Knighton played on the lacrosse team in the off-season. He'll wear No. 54 next season for Raider football. He has an older brother, Jay, who is a junior offensive lineman at Holy Cross.