Three-star quarterback Jacob Knuth has signed with the Golden Gophers.
Knuth, of Harrisburg, SD (pop. not quite 6,000), is the top-ranked recruit in the state. He also had offers from Iowa, Kansas State, Army, and Air Force. Knuth committed verbally to Minnesota in February.
As a senior at Harrisburg High School, Knuth threw for 2,401 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also ran for 507 yards, found the end zone 14 times, and was named the South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year. After losing in the state championship game in 2020, Knuth led the Tigers to the 11AAA title as a senior.
At 6-4, Knuth has the height of a prototypical quarterback. However, at 207 pounds, he’ll need to add weight to withstand the rigors of Big Ten football. At the Elite 11 camp in Indianapolis, Knuth ran a 4.61 40-yard dash. (For a high schooler, that’s a very respectable time). He was also a very good baseball player growing up, before opting to focus solely on football.
In a June article in the Pioneer-Press, Knuth’s high-school coach Brandon White said he thinks his player is more than a three-star talent. Playing in a rural, low-population state, rather than in a traditional football hotbed, factored into his ranking, in White’s view. He also described Knuth’s competitiveness with this anecdote from his sophomore season, when he shared time at quarterback with an upperclassman:
“We decided to play some basketball (style) make-it, take it. If your offense was able to get a couple of first downs or score on the possession, you went back out there… He really took that well and wanted to be the starter. Obviously, he is a competitor.”
With starter Tanner Morgan returning for his sixth season, there won’t be any need to rush Jacob Knuth onto the field. Redshirting this year is a good possibility. Assuming he doesn’t transfer, Cole Kramer has another year of eligibility left after this season. Kramer, Knuth, and Athan Kaliakmanis will likely be in a three-way battle to start in 2023.
