The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Another tough loss for the Virginia Tech Hokies, however Demetri Knowles continues to emerge in the return game for the ACC contenders.

Knowles returned three kicks for 77 yards in the Hokies’ 27-24 loss at the hands of the Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday afternoon.

The freshman wide receiver and return specialist is know sixth on the team in all purpose yards with 211, after he failed to record any yards against Bowling Green.

It was his highest yardage output to date as the Hokies fell to 3-2.

Five games into the season, Knowles has posted three catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, returned 125 kickoff yardage, and rushed for 21 yards.

Following a breakout performance in his debut, Knowles continues to become a more active member in the offensive game plan.

In the second game of the season, Knowles finished with 49 all purpose yards in a 42 -7 win over Austin Peay on September 8. He ran the ball twice for a total of 21 yards, caught one pass for 10 yards, and returned a kickoff for another 18 yards.

In the 15th ranked Hokies upset at the hands of the Pittsburgh Panthers, Knowles finished with 23 all purpose yards.

He caught one pass for 13 yards, and returned a kickoff for 10 yards.

Knowles garnered national headlines when he caught one pass in his first game as a Hokie, but the one catch was a 42-yard touchdown reception to put Virginia Tech ahead 14-20 with just under eight minutes left to play.

The native Grand Bahamian, son of Keith and Jackie Knowles, was a two-sport star throughout high school and continues to excel in both sports at the collegiate ranks.

In high school at Liberty Christian Academy in Virginia, Knowles was an all state selection in both football and track and field. He won 12 state titles in track between the indoor and outdoor seasons, including the 55m, 100m, 200m, 300m, long jump and triple jump events, while setting six school records in track and field.

He was also named the Lynchburg News and Advance Boys Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2011. On the football field he totalled 25 receptions for 338 yards and six touchdowns.

After sitting out his true freshman season for Virginia Tech football, Knowles joined the track and field team in January following the football season. He ran a season’s best time of 6.90s in the 60 meters at the VT Challenge and ran a 6.98s in the 60m at the SPIRE Division I Invitational in his debut.