The Best Thing I Saw This Week: Northwestern High lineman moving on to college -- early

Covering the Northwestern Trojans during their playoff run, I was able to watch some of the best players in the state for several weeks.

One of those players is Jordan Knox. According to 247Sports, the 6-foot-3, 310-pound offensive lineman is a four-star recruit and the fifth-best interior offensive lineman in the country.

He’s committed to play his collegiate football at for the Northwestern Wildcats. He committed in May and has decided to enroll there for the spring semester.

I was invited to attend his early signing ceremony on Dec. 21.

His family, friends and football teammates and staff were present to see him don the white hat with a purple ‘N’ on it.

“When I first met Jordan, he was a very ambitious 14-year-old that wanted to play football and wanted to do well,” Northwestern offensive line coach George Cantrell said. “Today at signing day, he’s now 18. He’s a work-driven kid who has a work ethic like no one else. He’s a tremendous leader, and I know that’s going to transition well. He’s a really good offensive lineman.”

For Knox, going to Northwestern was more than just a football decision.

“It’s just a special place,” Knox said. “I felt like it was a great school for me. Education is amazing. For O-line play, the Big Ten is where you wanna be. And I just feel like it’s a great university.

“Love Coach Fitz. Love Coach Anderson. And they do it the best way. It’s been proven. You see the guys that coming into the draft from there on the O-line, and they turn out great players. They got Rashawn Slater, a Pro Bowler. And Peter Skoronski is going to be a top-10 pick this year. I feel like I can be next.”

Knox has seen the Trojans grow during his four years with the team, helping the team improve from 2-8 his freshman year to a state championship appearance his senior year.

While the team didn’t win the state title, Knox believes the foundation has been laid for the program to be very successful.

“We didn’t finish the way we want to, of course,” Knox said. “I wanted to win that state championship, but I feel like I left a legacy behind that people can be proud of and the future players can build off of and go back to the state championship and just finish it, you know. I feel like us building that brick to going to the state championship is going to lay the foundation for the next guys to believe and know that from here on out, under Coach Wofford, the state championship is going to be expected.”