Recruiting Areas:
Primary: New Jersey (Hudson, Essex, Passaic County), Florida (East Coast)
Secondary: Georgia
Terrance Knighton, a seven-year NFL veteran at defensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins, and New England Patriots, completed his second season as the Seahawks' Defensive Line Coach in 2019.
During the 2019 season, Knighton coached three all-conference selections in first team selections Cam Gill and Chris Williams and second team selection Tevaughn Grant.
Under Knighton, Gill developed into a two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-American.
Gill and Williams also became the first duo of NEC Players and first defensive players ever to be selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl.
Following his brief time at Milford Academy, Knighton accepted a scholarship offer from Temple University where he went on to have a tremendous career. As a senior team captain in 2008, Knighton recorded 54 tackles, including 35 solos, five break-ups, a team-best three fumble recoveries, one blocked kick and one sack. He was named a First-Team All-MAC honoree, the first-ever for the Owls, and drew the attention of the NFL.
That spring, Knighton was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Weighing in at 330 pounds, he developed into productive run-stuffing defensive tackle for the Jaguars (2009-12), before moving on to the Broncos (2013-14), where he played in Super Bowl XLVIII, and captained the team the following season. After spending the 2015 season with the Redskins, he was in training camp with the Patriots in 2016, after signing a one-year, $4 million contract in March of 2016.
In another Wagner connection, Knighton and former
Seahawk standout and current Buffalo Bill Julian Stanford were teammates on the 2009 Jaguars' roster.
The durable Knighton, who was nicknamed "Pot Roast," by some veteran players on the Jaguars in his rookie season, played in 108 career games, finishing with 245 career tackles (159 solo), with 96 starts.
