Northern exposure
Baylor back from Canada on a rapid rise as prospect
Shortly after being introduced to the game as an 8-year old, one of the first lessons Shekai Mills-Knight was taught about playing running back was the importance of forward lean: Always surge forward for every positive yard.
Shortly after introducing himself to college scouts with a breakout debut season in American football last fall, Baylor School’s budding star has experienced a significant surge in his recruiting attention.
When Mills-Knight moved from Canada to Chattanooga last summer to join the Red Raiders, hobbled by a high-ankle sprain from an all-star game, the clout he had built as a heralded star north of the border had not yet followed him to the States.
It didn’t take long, however, for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound specimen to make his name known as a fastrising prospect. After picking up his first collegiate offer from Ole Miss on Oct. 23 and his second (from Big 12 member Cincinnati) three days later, Mills-Knight’s offer sheet has exploded. In addition to Ole Miss, three more Southeastern Conference programs — Tennessee, Vanderbilt and South Carolina — made offers in December, shortly after his impressive performance in the TSSAA Division II-AAA BlueCross Bowl state championship game
Since the calendar flipped to the new year, 24 more teams have extended offers as he has become one of the state’s most sought-after players in the class of 2025.
“He was still a bit of an unknown when he got his first couple of offers in the fall, but that’s not the case anymore,” 247Sports.com recruiting analyst Ryan Callahan said. “He has a nice combination of size and speed that has caused more major programs to take notice of him coming off his junior season. His stock has continued to rise over the past several weeks, and it wouldn’t surprise me if
more teams join the race for him this spring.
“It’s hard to project right now where he might end up in the state rankings, but he has been one of the hottest names in the state since the end of January, and it looks like he’s going to have his choice of some pretty good schools.”
As late as last season’s playoff run, Mills-Knight did not even have a player profile on any of the national recruiting websites. He is now a consensus three-star prospect and could continue to rise up the rankings as the demand for his signature on a national letter of intent intensifies.
GAINING ATTENTION
Despite being severely limited for the first four games of his junior season by the ankle injury, it didn’t take long for Mills-Knight — whose uncle Glen Mills trains Usain Bolt, the record-setting former Olympic sprinter from Jamaica who earned the label of “world’s fastest man” — to begin gaining attention as he rushed for 1,113 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023.
He capped the season with a 154-yard performance in the state title game at Finley Stadium, which crosstown rival McCallie won 34-28 to keep the Red Raiders from repeating as champions. The highlight play for Mills-Knight was a 64-yard touchdown in which he stepped through a tackle attempt as he ran to the left end, turned the corner, changed his form to a sprinter’s stride and outran the pursuit to the end zone as if he was winning a race on a track — even breaking through imaginary tape as he crossed the goal line.
“I felt the energy mid-run on that one,” said Mills-Knight, who ripped off a 55-yard run on his first carry of the season. “When I turned the corner down the sideline, I heard the crowd and then looked up at the Jumbotron and started smiling, because I knew nobody was catching me. I felt like since so many people were watching that game that that run would catch some people’s eye, and it did. A lot of coaches have said they were impressed when they saw that one.”
While that score was a trademark display of his speed, he can also serve as bruising back when tough yards are needed.
Mills-Knight played a key role helping the Red Raiders return to the title game when he powered over a defender — pushing forward — to convert a fourth down on the first play of the fourth quarter in a tied semifinal against Knoxville Catholic. He went on to total 221 yards and three touchdowns, with two of those scores in the fourth quarter as Baylor totaled 21 points in the period to seal the game.
He visited the University of Florida campus in late February and was at Penn State for a visit last weekend. Similar to his skyrocketing recruiting interest, his travel schedule is about to really pick up speed as he has scheduled visits to Tennessee next Saturday, to Utah the following weekend, to Oregon on April 20 and to Wisconsin four days after that.
According to On3.com, Mills is the 13th-best prospect in Tennessee and the 43rd-best running back in the nation for his recruiting cycle.
After having five players from last season’s Baylor team sign college scholarships, including three with Power Five programs, the Red Raiders are reloading.
In addition to Mills-Knight, they have two more rising seniors who are among the state’s top prospects — receivers Cam Sparks (a four-star prospect who has narrowed his list to Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan and Tennessee) and Joakim Dodson (who has committed to Tennessee) — while offensive lineman Jimmy Bryson also has offers from Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
Of that group, only MillsKnight was an unknown on the recruiting scene last year.
MOMENT OF IMPACT
“We’ve got some guys who are getting a lot of interest, but my number one phone call is about Shekai,” said Baylor head coach Erik Kimrey, who was hired ahead of the 2022 season after spending the previous year as an assistant at the University of South Carolina, his alma mater. “I’ve had two coaches tell me he’s the top-rated running back on their board. Everybody loves him because it’s so rare to have the blend of size and speed that he has.
“The first time I watched his Hudl highlights, I went back to my days at South Carolina as a recruiter and thought, ‘This kid is going to pop!’
“He’s an impressive-looking dude when he steps on the field, and he proved last year that he’s also got the ability to play at a very high level. He is a physical runner who’s not afraid of contact and never once got knocked backward.”
Although his season-ending performance solidified his place among the fastest-rising recruits, it was during the fourth game on Baylor’s schedule — against a Lipscomb Academy team loaded with power conference prospects, including 215-pound linebacker Edwin Spillman, who is now a midyear enrollee at Tennessee — that Mills-Knight introduced himself as a noteworthy prospect.
With Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and assistant Willie Martinez — who recruits the Chattanooga area for the Volunteers — on the sideline for a matchup that featured nearly 20 college prospects, MillsKnight, finally turned loose as he was nearly healed from the ankle injury, lowered his shoulder as he powered off tackle and met Spillman in the hole, sending the Mustangs defender backpedaling on impact.
“That’s when I knew I could play at the highest level,” said Mills-Knight, who is competing in the sprint events with Baylor’s track and field team this spring. “I had dreamed of coming to the States to play because I’ve always heard Canadians couldn’t play physical American football. I wanted to help prove that wrong and maybe open the door for more guys to follow.
“That game was a huge confidence boost, and it also let my teammates know I was legit. To be honest, I’ve always known it was just a matter of time before I blew up. I believe I can be great. That’s what I’ve been working to be ever since I started playing this game as a kid.”