Wayne Knight is an American college football running back for the UCLA Bruins. He previously played for the James Madison Dukes, earning second-team All-American honors in 2025.
Early life Knight attended Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Delaware. He committed to James Madison University (JMU) to play college football.
College career Knight played in eight games and had five carries for negative eight yards his true freshman year at JMU. He redshirted in 2023 after rushing for 23 yards over four carries in four games. In 2024, he played in 13 games with two starts and had 77 carries for 449 yards with two touchdowns and added 15 receptions for 137 yards with two touchdowns. Knight entered 2025 as the starting running back. He was named the MVP of the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game after rushing for 211 yards and a game record 234 all-purpose yards. He finished the year with 1,373 yards on 207 carries with nine touchdowns and 40 receptions for 397 yards with one touchdown. He was named a second-team All-American as an all-purpose player by the Associated Press.
On December 27, 2025, Knight announced that he would enter the transfer portal. On January 7, 2026, he transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. He was one of 10 former Dukes to join their former head coach Bob Chesney in his move to the Bruins. In their 2026 season opener, Knight ran for three touchdowns and 71 yards on eight carries in a 45–24 win over California. The following week in their home opener, Knight scored three touchdowns again in a 28–10 win over San Diego State. In UCLA's Big Ten opener, he ran for 177 yards and two touchdowns in 52–38 win over Purdue. His eight touchdowns in three games matched the Bruins' rushing touchdown total from their previous season.
College statistics YearTeamGamesRushingReceivingKick returnsGPGSAttYardsAvgTDRecYardsAvgTDAttYardsTD2022James Madison805 -8 -1.6056312.6048702023James Madison404235.8011111.000002024James Madison132774495.82151379.120002025James Madison14142071,3736.69403979.914890Career39162931,8376.3116160810.0381760
References
External links
James Madison Dukes bio UCLA Bruins bio