Milton Knox, the 5-foot-7.5, 196-pound running back from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys (Calif.), finished his junior season with 2375 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns. He says he runs a 4.6 forty, bench presses 255 pounds and squats 495.
"I have great vision and power," Knox said. "I can stiff arm well and am also good at coming out of the back field and playing receiver. I'm real versatile and there's just a lot that I can do on the field.
"I still want to improve my quickness and initial burst," he said. "I want to bulk-up and have better breakaway speed."
Knox, ranked No. 32 in the west by Scout.com, denies a leader, but favors Florida State, Ole Miss, California, USC and Michigan. He has offers from the 'Noles and the Rebels, as well as Arizona and San Diego State. "It's still up in the air," Knox said. "I can't say I have any favorites yet."
His first offer was from Mississippi in September. "They have a great program and I've got some family in Mississippi too," he said. "They have really good coaches and they are a program on-the-rise. I really like the SEC because you play all the best teams week in and week out.
"Florida State has great tradition too," Knox said. "They've had a lot of NFL players come through there. Also, coach Bobby Bowden is the winningest coach in college football. It's just a great place overall. The weather in Florida is great."
Knox says that growing up he used to follow the local Los Angeles schools. "I watched USC and UCLA a lot," he said. "I grew up in Los Angeles and my dad and I would watch the games and root for them.
"USC, UCLA and California are recruiting me and seem to like me but I'm not gonna get my hopes up," Knox said. "If they offer, that's great. I know there's still a lot of time left. May is gonna be a busy month. It'll be like a circus at my school because we have a bunch of Div. 1 prospects."
Knox admits that although his parents don't have a favorite school, they would like him to stay close. "They really want to see me play," Knox said. "They've never missed one of my games, so I really have to consider staying close. I'm still open to getting away, but we'll see.
"I want to take all five of my trips and narrow it down after the season," he said. "I want to play in an offense that runs and passes the ball, not just a team that runs the ball like 40 times a game."
Knox attended a San Diego State's Junior Day and the USC spring game, however, he's unsure if he'll go to any camps.
He reports a 3.1 core GPA and is taking the SAT in May.